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Badminton players Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu will be the only shuttlers from India in action at the Badminton World Federation World Tour Finals, slated to begin on Wednesday.
Sindhu had crashed out of the Thailand Open after losing to Ratchanok Intanon in the quarter-final clash last week while Srikanth had withdrawn from the tournament after his roommate Sai Praneeth tested positive for coronavirus. Srikanth had got off to a good start in the Thailand Open but had to pull out of the showpiece event. He thrashed Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin 21-11, 21-11 to seal the 38-minute long match in the first round. Sindhu has been placed in women's singles Group B while Srikanth is in men's singles Group B. "Group B has Axelsen's compatriot Anders Antonsen, Wang Tzu Wei (Chinese Taipei), Kidambi Srikanth (India) and Ng Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong China)," the BWF said in a statement on Tuesday. "World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei) is in Group B with home favourites Ratchanok Intanon and Pornpawee Chochuwong, and world champion Pusarla V Sindhu (India)," it added. The group stage will be followed by knockout, with the top two players/pairs from each group making it to the semi-finals. The tournament starts on Wednesday and the finals will be held on January 31. Spain's Carolina Marin defeated Tai Tzu Ying in the women's singles final to lift the Thailand Open on Sunday. The Olympic gold medalist won the summit clash in two straight games 21-19, 21-17 in an encounter that lasted for 48 minutes. Three-time world champion Marin is in women's singles Group A with An Se Young, the Korean she beat twice over the last fortnight; Canada's Michelle Li and Evgeniya Kosetskaya, who is the first Russian singles player at the season finale. (ANI)
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