Kidambi Srikanth decides to Hong Kong Open a miss

11/19/2017

After missing the China Open with a muscle strain Kidambi Srikanth has decided to sit out the Hong Kong Open as well, as he targets to achieve full fitness for the Dubai World Final. Sameer Verma and Ajay Jayaram will also be missing out, but Sai Praneeth will be India's representative in Hong Kong.

Badminton has a long season that spans over twelve months and players need to be impeccably judicious in picking up his or her challenges if they are to maintain their quality and intensity throughout the season. Hence, as much as the crowd would have loved to watch India’s Kidambi Srikanth take the court in Hong Kong next month, the World No. 2 had to pull out of the tournament to be in the best possible shape for the season finale in Dubai.

The 24-year-old pulled out of the China Open with a muscle strain and although he has recovered from it now, his physician has advised against going to the court immediately.

"Srikanth is much better. The injury has almost healed. But we wanted to ensure that he is 100 percent before he plays a tournament, not even 90 percent, so we decided to give him another week's time rest. We want him to be very good in the tournament he plays," said India physio C Kiran, as reported by PTI.

Srikanth has been in brilliant form this year, winning four titles after reaching five finals and will carry India’s title hopes in December as he holds the numero uno status in the Destination Dubai rankings.

Apart from Srikanth, Sameer Verma will miss the Hong Kong Open as he recovers from a shoulder injury. He had to pull out of the Denmark Open, French Open, and National Championship as well. Ajay Jayaram had already pulled out of the tournament as he is nursing his hamstring, although B Sai Praneeth has confirmed his participation in the tournament.

"I had skipped the China Open to take rest. I will play in Hong Kong. The team is leaving today," said Praneeth.