Sindhu not to participate in BWF World Tour Finals, targets Malaysia Open return

P.V. Sindhu will not be participating in the BWF World Tour Finals scheduled to be played in Bangkok from December 7-11.

File picture of P.V. Sindhu. | Photo Credit: AFP

P.V. Sindhu will not be participating in the BWF World Tour Finals scheduled to be played in Bangkok from December 7-11.

Sportstar had earlier reported on November 13 that the double Olympic medallist will not feature in the rescheduled World Tour that was supposed to be held in China.

However, on November 23, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) released the players’ docket that included Sindhu among the eight women’s singles players to take part in the season-ending tournament.

“I am not going to take part in World Finals as I am yet to recover fully from the injury. I have informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and next week there is going to be another release and my name won’t be there,” Sindhu told Sportstar after a light training session at the Suchitra Badminton Academy in Hyderabad on Friday.

Sindhu, who became the first Indian woman to claim two Olympic medals by winning the bronze medal in Tokyo 2021, and silver in Rio 2016, is recovering from a stress fracture on her left ankle she suffered during the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she won the gold.

The 2019 World Championships gold medallist trained for roughly 30 minutes along with coach Park Tae-Sang, who was giving specific instructions to her sparring partners at the academy. The session involved physical conditioning with more emphasis on getting the feel of the court, with occasional smashes and clean net clearances.

PV Sindhu trains at the Suchitra Badminton Academy under the watchful eyes of her coach Park Tae-Sang in Hyderabad on Friday.  | Photo Credit: V.S. Aravind

“I have started training but I am yet to attain my 100 per cent match fitness. I am taking rest and it’s not easy to comeback after a break and then an injury,” Sindhu said.

Coach Tae-Sang, who took Sindhu through the paces in the training session said that the ace shuttler is targetting a return in January 2023 with the Malaysia Open.

“We don’t want to rush Sindhu’s comeback and we are targetting a January comeback with the Malaysia Open. She has started her training and is moving nicely in the court but it’s important that she doesn’t strain too much,” the coach said.

“It’s all the more important to not rush a comeback as the Olympic Qualifiers will be in May next year and that’s our main goal. At the moment, the focus is recovery from injury and regaining full fitness,” Park added.

Having opted out of the World tour Finals, Sindhu caps off a glorious 2022 having won her maiden Commonwealth Games singles gold medal, besides winning the Syed Modi International, the Swiss Open and the Singapore Open.