World champion PV Sindhu, along with B Sai Praneeth and N Sikki Reddy, hit the courts for training on Friday under strict safety protocols at the SAI Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, ending a four-month-long coronavirus-forced hiatus.
This was after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) decided to resume the national badminton camp for the eight Olympic hopefuls following Telangana Government’s approval on August 1.
“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,” Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said.
The eight Olympic hopefuls also include London Bronze-winner Saina Nehwal, former world No 1 Srikanth Kidambi, women’s doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa and men’s doubles pairing of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj. Saina, who is based in Hyderabad, didn’t train on Friday, while the others, who had gone to their respective homes in March, and are yet to return to the city.
On Friday, Sindhu was the first one to train with Gopi and foreign coach Park Tae-Sang separately.
“Sindhu trained today from 6:30am to 8:30am. Gopi and Park were also present. She will be training everyday at the same time this week. In the evening, she will have her fitness training at Suchitra academy for agility and endurance,” the Rio Olympics Silver-medallist’s father, P V Ramana said.
“She has been training at home so physically she is in good shape but there are no tournaments till October, so she can afford to go easy, no point exerting too much. We have to be careful.”
After Sindhu, Praneeth and Sikki also trained at the academy from 8:30 to 10:30 am.