Odisha Open 2022 | Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap withdraw from tournament
A file image of Saina Nehwal.
|(Twitter)
Saina Nehwal, the former world No. 1 player, and Parupalli Kashyap will not compete in Odisha Open 2022 badminton tournament, which began on Tuesday. Both former Olympians were the top seeds in the Super 100 tournament's women's and men's singles events, and now other players have entered the draw.
It’s yet to be discovered why Saina Nehwal decided to withdraw, while Parupalli Kashyap explained on Twitter that he was injured and will be ready to play by March-April. In December, at an all-India senior ranking competition in Hyderabad, the former Commonwealth Games champion suffered a calf injury.
The top Indian women's duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy were also absent from the amended draw. Several players who were scheduled to play qualifying matches moved to the main draw as a consequence of the withdrawals.
On Tuesday, Chirag Sen, the elder brother of badminton world bronze medalist Lakshya Sen, and Tasnim Mir, India's first-ever world No. 1 junior shuttler, advanced to the Round of 32 in the men's and women's singles, respectively.
While Chirag Sen defeated Varun Kapur 21-18, 21-15 in 29 minutes in the first round, Tasnim Mir, 16, was handed a bye and will face senior compatriot Keyura Mopati on Wednesday.
Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto of the mixed doubles team, as well as Mithun Manjunath of the men's singles team, will be in action on Wednesday.
Last week's Syed Modi International saw Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto win their first Super 300 title.
In the absence of other prominent players, promising rookies Malvika Bansod and Ashmita Chaliha will start as favourites in the women's singles. In the women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will be favourites.
