Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who was forced to withdraw from the just-concluded Thailand Open as per protocols, resumed training on Sunday after the Badminton Association of India (BAI) got his 14-day mandatory quarantine period reduced to a week.
Srikanth withdrew from the tournament after B Sai Praneeth, who he was sharing a room with, had tested positive for COVID-19.
Srikanth had tested negative in the mandatory PCR test conducted on Monday and had also returned negative results since arriving in Thailand.
"Update on @srikidambi #BAI has ensured @srikidambi's mandatory quarantine of 14 days is reduced to a week and the former No 1 has resumed training starting today. The entire team is also scheduled for a compulsory COVID19 test tomorrow as per @bwfmedia protocol," BAI tweeted.
Srikanth and reigning world champion P V Sindhu have qualified for the World Tour Finals, scheduled to begin in Bangkok from Wednesday. The duo and the support staff will undergo a compulsory COVID-19 test on Monday.
The other Indian shuttlers who participated in the singles events of the Super 1000 tournament have already left Thailand while the doubles players will fly out on Monday.
The 27-year-old Srikanth had defeated Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin 21-11, 21-11 in the first round on Tuesday before withdrawing from the tournament.
The world number 14 had withdrawn from last week's event ahead of his second round after pulling a calf muscle.
"I had to pull out of the BWF Thailand Open to stay in line with BWF health and safety protocols, after my roommate tested +ve. I have however tested negative and I look forward to finishing my quarantine," Srikanth had tweeted.
Last week, Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy had returned positive for COVID-19 results initially but were later cleared to compete in the Yonex Thailand Open after they tested negative in a fresh round of testing.
Marin downs Tai Ying to win Thailand Open title
Spain's Carolina Marin on Sunday defeated Tai Tzu Ying in the women's singles final to lift the Thailand Open.
Olympic gold medalist won the summit clash in two straight games 21-19, 21-17 in an encounter that lasted for 48 minutes. In a much tighter contest, the Spaniard claimed the first game 21-19. The Taiwanese appeared to lose her confidence early in the second set, as a dangerous Marin asserted her dominance.
Ying saved four match points but it was too late to overpower Marin as she claimed her second title in a fortnight in Thailand.
In the men's singles final which was an all Denmark contest, Viktor Axelsen defeated his countrymate Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-11, 21-7 to claim his second title in Thailand.
Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat the South Korean pair of Seo Seung Jae and Chae YuJung in the mixed doubles final to lift the Thailand Open title.
Indian junior women's hockey team beats Chile senior side 2-0
The Indian women's junior hockey team extended its unbeaten run by notching up a 2-0 victory over the Chile senior side at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.
Playing their fifth match of the tour of Chile, goals from Sangita Kumari (48th minute) and Sushma Kumari (56th minute) in the last quarter gave India the win.
It was a very open contest between the two teams during the first three quarters, with neither team managing to break the deadlock. There were chances for both the teams through open play and set pieces, but the defenses stood tall to deny their opponents.
India looked like they were under pressure during a phase of play in the second quarter when they conceded back-to-back penalty corners, but some good defending inside the striking circle made sure the hosts didn't take the lead.
A similar story unfolded in the third quarter, but it was India who were on the attack, seeing a penalty corner execution being defended well by Chile's senior team in the 32nd minute. The hosts themselves had a penalty corner three minutes later, but again it was the defense that was successful.
It was India who drew first blood as they orchestrated a beautiful team move to open the scoring through Sangita. The young forward took her chance confidently, and maintained her goal-scoring form.
Minutes later, Chile had a glorious chance to equalise through a penalty corner, but India's rushers performed their task decently enough.
In the 56th minute, it was the visiting team's turn to get a penalty corner, which proved to be the decisive moment in the match.
A well-executed drag-flick and a successful strike off a rebound by Sushma Kumari hit the back of the net, and extended India's lead to two goals, which they were able to maintain for the remaining few minutes to snatch their fourth win in five matches in Chile.
