COVID-19: Two players withdrawn from India Open
New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) The COVID-19 pandemic continued to take a toll on the Yonex-Sunrise India Open badminton tournament with two players being withdrawn from the main draw ahead of their mixed doubles semifinal clash here on Saturday.
Second seeded Russian mixed doubles player Rodion Alimov tested positive for the virus and was withdrawn from the USD 400,000 tournament.
His mixed doubles partner Alina Davletova was also withdrawn after being identified as a close contact.
Indonesian pair of Yong Kai Terry Hee and Wei Han Tan thus made it to the mixed doubles final after getting a walkover.
"Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm that one player from the current draw has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been withdrawn from the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2022," the world's governing body BWF said in a statement.
"The player returned a positive result to a mandatory RT-PCR test conducted on Friday. His doubles partner has been identified as a close contact and has also been withdrawn from the tournament. Their opponents will be given a walkover to the final."
On Wednesday, as many as seven Indian shuttlers, including reigning world championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, were withdrawn from the event after testing positive for the virus.
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn were Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.
Earlier, India's B Sai Praneeth, the 2019 world championship bronze medallist, double specialists Manu Attri and Dhruv Rawat had tested positive and had pulled out before the start of the tournament.
The entire England badminton contingent had also withdrawn ahead of the Super 500 event after the country's doubles specialist Sean Vendy and coach Nathan Robertson tested positive for the virus.
Organised by the Badminton Association of India, the 2022 edition of India Open is being held behind closed doors at the Indira Gandhi Stadium's KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.
As per the COVID-19 protocols, all the participating players are being tested everyday at the hotel and outside the stadium.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
