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Unfair, upsetting : Saina, Srikanth s Tokyo hopes dwindle with India Open postponement
Saina Nehwal is currently 22nd in the Race to Tokyo rankings.
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images for Falcon
On Monday, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced the postponement of next month s India Open Super 500 in New Delhi, following the deteriorating virus scenario in the capital, which went into a six-day lockdown the same night. It was to be one among the final three Olympic qualification tournaments. This turn of events has further complicated the qualification path for former World No .1 Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal, the London Olympics bronze medallist. The two are now left staring at a steep climb of ranking points from just two competitions Malaysia Open Super 750 and Singapore Open Super 500 over the next two months.
PV Sindhu gets past feisty Blichfeldt to make Swiss Open final
EPA/Bagus Indahono
Shaking off a wobbly start, PV Sindhu scythed past rising Dane Mia Blichfeldt to make her first final since the 2019 World Championships, with a 22-20, 21-10 win at the Swiss Open on Saturday. She will face an old foe, Olympic champion Carolina Marin, in the final. The Jakobshalle arena in Basel where the Super 300 event is being hosted incidentally was also the setting for the Indian s world title conquest.
Blichfeldt showed some strong resistance early in the first game, attacking Sindhu s front court and dictating rallies. There was sufficient reason for caution for Sindhu. In the first Thailand event this year following the pandemic pause, the 23-year old had wrung Sindhu dry in three games. She d also run amok over Saina Nehwal s plans to make a record ninth World Championships quarterfinal appearance in 2019. From three points adrift in the mid-game interval, the reigning European Games champio