New Delhi: India’s women’s singles No. 1 seed, PV Sindhu swept aside compatriot Ira Sharma in the 2022 India Open second round 21-10, 21-10 to advance to the quarter-finals.
Sindhu will next take on another Indian player – Ashmita Chalha, who defeated Yaelle Hoyaux of France 21-17, 21-14 in the second round on Thursday.
India’s 31-year-old, Saina Nehwal, however, crashed out of the tournament after losing to her 20-year-old compatriot, Malvika Bansod 17-21, 9-21 in 34 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has confirmed that seven players were tested positive for COVID-19, including men’s top seed and the reigning World Champion silver medalist – Kidambi Srikanth. Those players were forced to withdraw from the tournament.
“Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm that seven players have been withdrawn from the India Open 2022 after testing positive for Covid-19,” said BWF said in a statement published on Thursday.
“The players returned a positive result to a mandatory RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday. Doubles partners deemed close contact of the seven players have also been withdrawn from the tournament. The players will not be replaced in the main draw and their opponents will be given a walkover to the next round,” added the statement.
“Testing protocols have been implemented in accordance with Badminton World Federation and Badminton Association of India guidelines to ensure the health and safety of all participants,” concluded BWF.
The others who tested positive for COVID-19 were Ashwini Ponappa, Ritika Rahul Thaker, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Singhi, and Khushi Gupta.
Per the testing protocol for the event, these players went through the RT-PCR tests on Tuesday and BWF announced the test results on Thursday morning.
