Thailand Masters: Kidambi Srikanth to spearhead Indian challenge
Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth will spearhead the Indian challenge at the Thailand Masters 2025 badminton tournament starting from Tuesday at Nimibutr Stadium in Pathumwan.
Rio Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin has withdrawn from the upcoming BWF World Championships after failing to recover completely from a knee injury she suffered during the Indonesia Masters final in January earlier this year.
Defending champion Marin had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee while competing in the Indonesian Masters final on January 26 and has since been sidelined from competition.
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She underwent knee surgery on 29 January and had accepted the initial invitation to play in the World Championships to be held in Basel from August 19-25.
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However, the Spaniard has now said she would not be able to participate in the event.
“Me and my team has decided that we aren’t going to play the World Championship because we are very short of time. The recovery is going well and the knee is running well. So we will wait till the tournaments of September,” she said in a video message on Twitter on Sunday.
Marin would be replaced by Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Indian shuttler HS Prannoy received a late call for the tournament following withdrawals by former world champion Viktor Axelsen and China’s Shi Yuqi.
Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma and B Sai Praneeth are the other three Indians who will be participating in the men’s singles event at the championships.
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