The Badminton Association of India (BAI) is having its hands full with trying to get the top badminton players in the country in agreement and training again. BAI faced issues with PV Sindhu a couple of months ago when she decided to not play in the Thomas and Uber Cup tournaments in Denmark as she had to attend a religious event.
BAI President requested her to play since she is the number 2 ranked player in the world and granted her approval to join the squad at a later date. The Badminton World Federation would later go on to cancel the Thomas and Uber Cup tournaments.
PV Sindhu Facing Issues At Home
PV Sindhu has once again made the headlines after she quit the national training camp midways and decided to leave the country. Given that most sports are still suspended in India and training camps are far and few between, one would have expected a top player like PV Sindhu to make full use of the opportunity.
However, the 25 year old decided to quit the camp and fly to England alone. The move is highly unusual given the fact that PV Sindhu generally flies with her parents or her coaches. The second reason the decision to leave India and fly to the UK is controversial because a number of badminton players including Saina Nehwal pulled out of the Denmark Open because they did not want to travel overseas and put themselves at risk due to COVID-19.
The UK is currently experiencing a second surge of COVID-19 cases and hence it is concerning to see PV Sindhu take the risk and fly to the UK. Sources claim that PV Sindhu has had arguments with her family as she feels that they are being too controlling.
Those close to her claim that the extended lockdown has taken a toll on her plus the fact that her freedom is being curtailed at home got the better of her.
PV Sindhu Will Be Back In 10 Weeks
PV Sindhu left the training camp in Hyderabad and told her coaches at the Pullela Gopichand Academy that she will be out of the country for the next 8 to 10 weeks. All of this was kept silent for the last 10 days and news of her departure only came to the surface when she took to Instagram to post that she was working with Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) to improve her fitness, nutrition and recovery.
Her Instagram post says that she is working with GSSI and preparing for the Asian Tour which starts in early 2021. The post shows a picture of her and Rebecca Randell who is a scientist in sports nutrition.
A source that preferred to be anonymous claimed that PV Sindhu will start training with the England badminton team as she cannot be away from training for 8 to 10 weeks, given the fact that she has had no training during the lockdown in India. The source said that hopefully the break in England will help PV Sindhu to relax and de-stress and also help her parents understand that she needs her freedom as well.
Her father who is usually very open to discussing his daughter with the media, preferred to stay silent on this issue.
Demoralizing For Rest Of Indian Players
One wonders if all is well in the Indian badminton camp as PV Sindhu had earlier opted not to train during the same time slots as the other players. Her sudden departure and her decision to start training with the England team can be demoralizing to the rest of the Indian players.
