Indian badminton stars Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Thailand Open BWF- Super 1000 tournament in Bangkok. Both Nehwal and Prannoy were taken to a local hospital for further tests and treatment. 

The two shuttlers are as a result have both been withdrawn from the Thailand Open, 2021’s first major badminton tournament, which gets underway in Bangkok on Tuesday. Nehwal’s husband Parupalli Kashyap has also been quarantined and taken to hospital for further tests since he was in close proximity to his wife. It is yet to be determined if Kashyap is also COVID-19 positive although he has also been asked to withdraw from the tournament.

Nehwal and her husband Kashyap had only recently recovered from COVID-19 in the last week of December 2020. According to rules in Thailand, both Saina and Prannoy will not be quarantined in hospital facility for the next 10 days. 

“Both Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy gave their third COVID-19 tests in Bangkok which have come back positive. They are now being taken to the hospital for further tests,” a Badminton Authority of India (BAI) sources informed Zee News exclusively on Tuesday.

“Apart from Nehwal and Prannoy, Parupalli Kashyap is also being taken to the hospital for further testing because he was obviously in close proximity to his wife Saina,” the source added.

This tournament was supposed to be Saina Nehwal’s first major international commitment in a COVID-19 marred season. This is the second time the Indian shuttler has tested positive in the last few weeks along with Kashyap, both of who caught the virus at RMV Guru Saidutt’s wedding.

Sindhu and Saina didn’t participate in Denmark Open Super 750 and SaarLorLux Super 100 — the only two events which could be conducted after BWF was forced to suspend the calender at the end of the All England Championships in March.

China had withdrawn after a surge of COVID-19 cases in Thailand, Japan pulled out at the last minute after World no. 1 Kento Momota tested positive for COVID-19. The rest of the Indian contingent apart from these three shuttlers have been allowed to compete in the tournament.