PV Sindhu, who was knocked out of the All England Open in the quarterfinals by Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara last week, will be without training.
PV Sindhu file image. (Photo: IANS)
Badminton star PV Sindhu has decided to put herself in self-quarantine after returning from Birmingham, UK, where she participated in the All England Open Badminton Championship which ended on Sunday.
Sindhu, who was knocked out of the All England Open in the quarterfinals by Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara last week, will be without training as the SAI-Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad has been locked down amid the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The Telangana state government has ordered to close all the academies in the state till March 31. And even though the Union Sports Ministry has directed the Olympic-bound athletes to continue with their training, it remains to be seen what arrangement is made for India’s number one shuttler.
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“All academies are shut currently. After one week we will see whether we can take some permission for Sindhu. Those who are going to the Olympics have to be in preparation mode or else it will be difficult. The Olympics is not postponed, it’s four months away,” PV Sindhu’s father PV Ramana was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Earlier, Sindhu was seen taking the #SafeHandsChallenge to inspire people to keep their hands clean in order to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed over 8,900 people and infected more than 2,19,000 people worldwide.
Thank you Ms @KatherineHadda for the challenge. Definitely we all can help slow the spread of #COVID2019
I now challenge @KirenRijiju @imVkohli @MirzaSania Make sure everyone wash yours hands properly #SafeHandsChallenge @WHO pic.twitter.com/Fztd6CzGU9— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) March 17, 2020
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in India rose above 175 with 160 active cases. India has so far reported three deaths – one in Mumbai, one in Delhi and one in Kalaburagi, Karnataka.
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