PV Sindhu may skip Denmark Open amid COVID scare
After the Thomas and Uber Cup was postponed, the Denmark Open will be the first international badminton tournament since April.
Unwilling to take any risks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu is undecided on the Denmark Open Super 750 event, set to begin in Odense from October 13.
With the Thomas and Uber Cups deferred to 2021, the Denmark Open will be the first event that will mark the return of international badminton after the COVID-enforced hiatus disrupted the calendar.
The Sindhu camp, however, is unwilling to rush into things and will only take a final call closer to the tournament after assessing the options carefully.
“We need to look at all aspects and will decide only on September 27,” Sindhu’s father PV Ramana told the Indian Express.
“We’ll look at the COVID-19 situation in Odense closer to the tournament date while carefully weighing it against points that we can gain by winning.
“We’ll also see who else is playing the Denmark tournament and sit with coaches and the Badminton Association of India (BAI),” he added.
Points earned or lost at the event won’t count towards Rio 2016 Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu’s qualification for Tokyo but will affect her World Tour Finals qualification and seeding.
“There is no need to act reckless with the Olympics next year. That’s the big medal,” Ramana pointed out.
Mixed views amongst Indian shuttlers
PV Sindhu, however, isn’t the only Indian shuttler waiting to see how the situation develops before taking a final call on the event.
Saina Nehwal – a bronze medallist at the London 2012 Olympics – and her husband Parupalli Kashyap are contemplating their travel to Odense as well.
Doubles specialist N Sikki Reddy, too, said she had ‘not yet decided’.
Youngster Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, is set to travel to Denmark as planned.
With the Denmark Masters - originally slated for October 20-25 - too cancelled, the Denmark Open will be a one-stop event for the players in the European leg of the BWF World Tour. The Thomas and Uber Cups were scheduled to be held in Aarhus, Denmark, from October 3 to 11.
The Asian leg is expected to start in November this year.
There have been no international badminton events since the All England Championships in April due to the ongoing pandemic.