Kolkata: World Champion and Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu along with B Sai Praneeth and N Sikki Reddy, have resumed training under strict safety protocols at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad on Friday.
Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said, “I am very happy to have our elite shuttlers back for on-field training after this long break. We are fully equipped to resume training in a safe environment.”
First day of practice 🏸 in Gopichand academy. Happy to be back where we train😊🥳 and not to forget a good session with the coaches @kristiawan.dwi @namrih_suroto @m_miftahh #gototbefit #slowandsteady #happyplace #workhardplayhard 😊 pic.twitter.com/zCTQjCKqOc
— sikkireddy (@sikkireddy) August 7, 2020
The sports Authority of India (SAI) has selected only eight Olympic hopefuls for training —Sindhu, Sai Praneeth, Sikki Reddy, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Ashwini Ponnappa, Chirag Shetty and his doubles partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. Saina who is based in Hyderabad did not train on Friday, while others have gone back home in March and are yet to return.
Finally back to the training centre after a very loooong time ✌️😁 #goodfeeling #saigopichandacdemy pic.twitter.com/LXI8X2ixyH
— Sai Praneeth (@saiprneeth92) August 7, 2020
Saina is training with her husband Parupalli Kashyap, the former Commonwealth Games champion, and RMV Gurusaidutt at a different centre. “Four-five of us, including some juniors, have been training together for a couple of weeks,” said Kashyap. “Saina has just started. She’ll probably join (Gopi’s camp) when she gets fitter. She had a chat with the new Indonesian coach Agus.”
The training is being conducted with very strict guidelines as provided by the Ministry of Health and the Standard Operating Procedure drawn up by SAI, alongside the state government’s regulations.
