Picture Credit: Twitter
The entire England badminton contingent has pulled out of the upcoming BWF India Open after the country's doubles specialist Sean Vendy and coach Nathan Robertson tested positive for the COVID-19. England's decision to pull out was made public by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Sunday. However, the organizers stated that the test results conducted at the team hotel came negative for the players.
Sean Vendy's men's doubles partner, Ben Lane, had also confirmed the development with a Twitter post on Jan 8. "No India Open this year for myself and @SeanVendy after he returned a positive covid test along with our coach @Nath_Robertson," Lane had tweeted. Vendy and Lane were seeded fourth in the men's doubles competition.
India Open scheduled to start from 11 January
The BWF World Tour season for 2022 will kick off with the Indian Open. The tournament is scheduled to start on 11 January and will conclude on 16 January. A total of 453 Entries have been made for five events. India will have representation in all departments. PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, all will be in action in their respective departments. Saina Nehwal, who did not take a part in the BWF World Championships due to injury, will be making a comeback.
The Men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also feature. Dhruv Kapila and N Sikki Reddy will represent India in the Mixed Doubles category while Ashwini Ponappa and Sikki Reddy will play in the Women's Doubles category.
The venue for the world event will be KD Jadhav Hall, Indira Gandhi Stadium, Delhi. Organized by the BAI, the Super 500 event have a total prize money of USD 400,000.