Saina Nehwal to spearhead India's prospect at Thailand Open, PV Sindhu rested

Saina Nehwal to spearhead India's prospect at Thailand Open, PV Sindhu rested

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The Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced the Indian team for the Thailand Open, Indonesia Open, and the Australian Open on Thursday. Saina Nehwal will represent India in all the three tournaments while PV Sindhu has been rested for the Thailand Open and will play in the other two events.

BAI declared the Indian contingent for three major tournaments following a two-day meet held in Kolkata. The Indian team will start off with the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold (May 30th- June 4th) which would be followed by the Indonesia Open Super Series (June 12-18) and the Australian Open Super Series(June 20-25). 

The World No. 9 Saina Nehwal will burden the hopes of millions of Indian fans in Thailand, a tournament she won in 2012. Sai Praneeth and Parupali Kashyap will fight it out for India in the men's single format at the Grand Prix tournament. Kashyap made a return after a long injury layoff in last month's China Masters and Praneeth who won his maiden Superseries title in  Singapore will be strong contenders for the Grand Prix event.

Along with the experienced duo, Harsheel Dani, Siril Verma, Rahul Yadav, and Subhankar Dey will also be a part of the Indian men's contingent while the women singles category will feature Ira Sharma, Ruthvika Shivani and Akarshi Kashyap and Rituparna Das apart from Saina.  

In the following Indonesia Open and Australian Open Superseries, PV Sindhu will join compatriot Saina Nehwal in the women's single category while the men's side will see World No. 13 Ajay Jayaram along with 2017 Singapore Open finalist Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma, and Kashyap.

Ashwini Ponappa/Sikki Reddy will be the only pair who will spearhead India's chances in the women's doubles category while the team of Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Sikki Reddy and Sumeeth Reddy/ Ashwini P will represent India in the mixed doubles category.

"We have announced the team in advance so that the players can plan their travel properly and have ample time to prepare better both physically and mentally for the tournaments," Anup Narang, Honorary General Secretary and official spokesperson of BAI said.

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