In men’s doubles, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will face the Malaysian team of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, while Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy begin their title defense against South Korean rivals Kim Gi Jung and Lee Yong Dae.
The World Badminton Federation (BWF) announced later on Tuesday that Saina and Prannoy could compete, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said that “Kashyap’s participation will depend on the result of his test,” carried out on Tuesday afternoon.
Besides the Indian trio, German Jones Ralfy Jansen and Egyptian Adham Hatem Elgamal had also tested positive after testing on Monday. While Jansen’s decision was also overturned and he can now compete, Elgamal was forced to withdraw because his antibody test was negative, BWF said.
All three players will play their rescheduled first-round match on Wednesday.
“Nehwal, Prannoy and Jansen tested positive in the PCR test but their IgG antibodies were positive. A positive antibody test means that a person has been infected with the Covid-19 virus at some point in the past. This does not mean that she is currently infected. The trio all contracted Covid-19 at the end of 2020. The committee was convinced that they are not infected and do not pose a danger to the tournament, ”the BWF statement said.
Saina and Prannoy had previously been forced to withdraw from the tournament after testing positive for Covid-19 tests which were carried out on Monday. Saina’s husband Kashyap also had to step aside as he shared a room with Saina and was asked to quarantine himself.
Hours after announcing the withdrawal of the three players on Tuesday, the World Badminton Federation (BWF) said both Sain and Prannoy had been tested for a second time and produced positive results. However, a task force of six doctors that was formed for the tournament by the Thai government had determined that the couple were not currently “uninfected and did not pose a threat to the tournament.”
PV Sindhu suffered a shock defeat on her return to international badminton, losing in three games to Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt in the first round of the YONEX Thailand Open Super 1000 here on Tuesday.
Months after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the international schedule, sixth-seeded Sindhu returned to action with a 21-16 24-26 13-21 loss to world number 18 Blichfeldt in a battle 74 minutes.
The defeat ended India’s women’s singles campaign as other contender Saina Nehwal was sent off after testing positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the tournament.
In men’s singles, world number 13 B Sai Praneeth also suffered a back-to-back defeat to Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen on his return to competition.
Praneeth lost 16-21 10-21 to world No.15 Wangcharoen for only his second loss to the Thai player.
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Satwik and Ashwini took a 21-11, 27-29, 21-16 victory over the Indonesian pair of Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Widjaja. Women’s doubles duo Ashwini and N Sikki Reddy lost 16-21 7-21 to Korean pair Kim So Yeong and fourth seed Kong Hee Yong.
