P V Sindhu in London as practice in national camp wasn't happening properly, clarifies her father
New Delhi: World Champion P V Sindhu is in London to prepare for next year's Asia leg of the Badminton World Federation's calendar as "her practice was not happening properly" at the ongoing national camp in Hyderabad, her father PV Ramana has said.
The Olympic silver-medallist has been in London for the last 10 days and posted a picture with sports nutritionist Rebecca Randell of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), her training base, on her social media page on Monday.
"She has been in London for last 10 days. We can't stay with her for two months, so she went alone," Ramana, who has often spoken on behalf of the shuttler told PTI, refuting reports that she left because of an unspecified dispute in the family.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BWF has been forced to move the World Tour Finals (Jan 27-31) and the two Asia opens (Jan 12-17 and Jan 19-24) to Bangkok in January next year.
Ramana said that the celebrated shuttler was not happy with her training at the national camp.
"Her practice was not happening properly here. After the 2018 Asian Games, Gopi (chief coach Pullela Gopichand) didn't take interest in her training. He didn't provide a proper practice partner to train with her.
"She was not having enough quality practice and was fed up with the treatment," he claimed.
When contacted, Gopichand confirmed that Sindhu had informed him about her move to London but refused to respond to Ramana's remarks.
"She has gone for that Gatorade training academy, that is the information we have. They have a training institute there. I don't know the exact details or duration of the program," he said.
"I don't want to respond to what her father has to say, if Sindhu says something, I will respond," he added.
Ramana said Sindhu had informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) regarding her trip to London and had also kept Gopichand in the loop.
"She had sent a letter to BAI last week about her trip, with a copy to Gopi...and since she will be there for at least eight weeks, she will be practicing with England team. So, she requested BAI to put in a word to Badminton England," Ramana said.
Sindhu has been part of the national camp for Olympic hopefuls and was training with her Korean coach Park Tae Sang ever since Kim Ji Hyun resigned last year.
She skipped the recently-concluded Denmark Open Super 750 tournament and will next be seen in action at the Asian leg of the adjusted BWF World Tour 2020 in January.
The Hyderabadi will not get a direct entry in the rescheduled World Tour Final as the BWF has decided against handing automatic invitations to current world champions in the season-ending tournament.
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UP: Azam Khan released from jail after almost two years, supporters gather outside Sitapur jail
Sitapur (PTI): Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Azam Khan was on Tuesday released on bail from the Sitapur jail here after nearly two years of incarceration.
Dressed in his trademark white kurta-pyjama paired with a black waistcoat, Khan drove past the jail premises in a private vehicle, not interacting with a host of reporters who tried to get his comment.
Khan's elder son, Adeeb, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, gathered outside the Sitapur district jail since morning to receive him. Several SP leaders, including national secretary and former MLA Anup Gupta, Moradabad MP Ruchi Vira and district president Chatrapati Yadav, were also present outside the jail to welcome Khan.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Adeeb said, "Azam Khan is the hero of the day. I am here with all his supporters to welcome him. I have nothing more to say. Whatever has to be said, my father will say after coming out of jail."
SP leader Ruchi Vira said the party would celebrate this day as "the day of victory of justice".
"We had faith in the judiciary and will continue to have it. No other politician has been harassed as much as he (Azam Khan) has been," she told PTI Videos, ahead of Khan's release.
Meanwhile, the district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Sitapur to "prevent any untoward incident", officials said, even as a large number of supporters managed to reach near the jail with their vehicles, causing traffic congestion.
Sitapur traffic police issued challans to several vehicles that had gathered in violation of restrictions.
"There was chaos and rush despite Section 163 being in force. Vehicles were not allowed to come close to the jail, but they somehow managed to reach there. Action had to be taken to avoid further complications," City Circle Officer Vinayak Bhosle said earlier in the day.
