India Open: Sai Praneeth, Dhruv Rawat test positive for COVID-19, withdraw from tournament

Indian badminton players B Sai Praneeth and Dhruv Rawat have tested positive for COVID-19 and their names have been withdrawn from the BWF India Open badminton tournament.

According to a statement from the Badminton Association of India (BAI), both Sai Praneeth and Dhruv Rawat's RT-PCR tests before traveling to New Delhi returned a positive result.

The Indian withdrawls come after the entire England team withdrew from the India Open after their doubles specialist Sean Vendy and coach Nathan Robertson tested positive for COVID-19 during a pre-departure test.

Read: India Open: England team pulls out after Sean Vendy tests positive for COVID-19; Parupalli Kashyap injured

Although the withdrawls have threatened to take the sheen out of the India Open, BAI General Secretary and Organizing Secretary Ajay Singhania expressed delight that the tournament was going ahead. He seemed confident that the tournament will be a grand success like the earlier editions.

“The India Open has become an important event on the BWF calendar and we are delighted that the new season will kick start from here. We have taken all possible precautions for the safety of the players and officials and we will try to engage fans through various online platform and live broadcast on television,” he said.

Players gunning to start season on a high with a good India Open outing

India's badminton poster girl PV Sindhu said playing without fans would be a bit of a dampener but she remains motivated to clinch her second tournament title.

Sindhu won the India Open title in 2017.

“I have always looked forward to playing in New Delhi as India Open has always had full house crowd with great atmosphere as winning a tournament at home is always special for any player," she said.

Men’s singles top seed and former champion Kidambi Srikanth said the tournament provided the perfect opportunity to build on his World Championships success.

“It’s a long season for all us with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games scheduled later this year. Starting the season on home turf gives me a perfect opportunity to start the year on a winning note,” said the former World No. 1.

The 10th edition of the tournament, which is being held after a gap of two years following the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020, will see participants from 19 countries across five categories vying for the top honors.

The India Open will be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from January 11 to January 16.