India Open: Kidambi Srikanth pens emotional message after withdrawal due to COVID

World Championship silver Medalist Kidambi Srikanth posted a message for his fans on his official Instagram handle following the withdrawal from the ongoing India Open 2022. Kidambi Srikanth alongwith six other Indian players tested positive for COVID-19. The Indian Open badminton tournament is being currently played behind closed doors at the Indira Gandhi Stadium's KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

India Open 2022: Kidambi Srikanth message after testing COVID-19 positive

Kidambi Srikanth in his message wrote that despite being conscious about the surrounding he tested positive for COVID-19. He wrote that it is disappointing to leave the tournament with a fight but it is equally important for him and others to recover and comeback strongly for the next tournaments. He further wrote that symptoms are minor.

BAI issues statement on COVID cases at India Open

While the India Open 2022 as per the schedule earlier the tweet from BAI media had said that seven players have tested positive for COVID-19 and have withdrawn from the India Open main draw.  The seven players also had doubles pair who have deemed to have close contact and were found positive after RT-PCR Test was conducted on Tuesday. The players who were found positive will not be replaced during the India Open main draw and the opponents will be given walkover.

Kidambi Srikanth along with Ashwini Ponappa, Ritika Thakkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Singh and Khushi Gupta are among 7 to test COVID-19 positive at the ongoing India Open 2022 badminton tournament in New Delhi. As per ESPN report  the other doubles players who have been withdrawn on account of being close contacts are MR Arjun, Akshan Shetty, Utkarsh Arora, Sai Pratheek K, Gayatri Gopichand and Kavya Gupta. Srikanth is currently world No. 10 in singles while Ashwini Ponappa is world No. 20 in women’s doubles and was competing in the tournament with P. Sikki Reddy. Ahead of the start of the India Open Badminton tournament, Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth pulled out of the season-opening India Open Super 500 tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. 

India Open schedule 

The India Open badminton tournament, a BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament, is back after a two-year gap due to the coronavirus pandemic.  India open 2022 will take place in India from 11 January – 16 January 2022.