P V Sindhu withdraws from Uber Cup due to 'personal reasons', doubtful for Denmark Open
New Delhi: World champion P V Sindhu has pulled out of next month's Thomas and Uber Cup Finals due to "personal reasons" and could also miss the subsequent Super 750 tournaments in Denmark.
The Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, scheduled to be held from October 3 to 11 in Aarhus, Denmark is the first tournament in the revised calender, which was launched by the sport's governing body BWF last week.
"Sindhu will not be able to participate in the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals due to some personal reasons," the Olympic silver-medallist's father P V Ramana told PTI.
"She has some personal work, so unfortunately she will have to skip the event. We have informed the Badminton Association of India about her decision," he added.
The Thomas and Uber Cup Finals will be followed by the Denmark Open I (October 13-18) and Denmark Masters (October 20-25).
An Olympic hopeful, Sindhu, who has been training at the national badminton camp in Hyderabad, had been planning to participate in the prestigious tournament.
Asked if she would be participating in the two 750 events in Denmark, Ramana said: "Actually that is also (in doubt) ... I mean the entries have been sent for both the events, but it depends on her personal work if she would be able to play both or not.
"She may have to skip one tournament in Denmark. If she can complete her personal work then she will play one."
Sindhu had resumed training last month under the supervision of Korean coach Park Tae-Sang after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) allowed the national camp for eight Olympic hopefuls following approval from the Telangana government on August 1.
Besides Sindhu, world championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth, former world no. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and women's doubles player N Sikki Reddy are the only ones currently training at the SAI-Pullela Gopichand Academy.
Satwiksairaj Ranki Reddy, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, is at his home in Amalapuram in Andhra Pradesh, while his men's doubles partner Chirag Shetty is lodged in Mumbai.
Ashwini Ponnappa has preferred to stay in Bangalore and train at the Padukone-Dravid Centre of Sports Excellence.
London Olympics bronze medallist and former world no. 1 Saina Nehwal has still not joined the national camp and is training at a separate facility with husband Parupalli Kashyap and a few others, who are not part of the camp.
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Seven killed, three injured in separate road accidents in UP
Mainpuri/Muzaffarnagar/Deoria (UP) (PTI): Seven people were killed and three others injured in separate road accidents in Mainpuri, Muzaffarnagar and Deoria districts of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Wednesday.
All incidents took place on Tuesday night.
In Mainpuri, three persons, including a couple, were killed near the Shitala Devi Temple on Devi Road under Kotwali police circle when a pickup vehicle hit a motorcycle head-on, Superintendent of Police Ganesh Saha said.
The victims, Dharmendra Singh (50), his wife Baby (48), both residents of Ferozabad, and Sanjay Singh (40) of Tavepur village, were on the two-wheeler and were on their way to attend the cremation of a relative when the incident took place.
According to police, the pickup and a Wagon R car were attempting to overtake each other when the former went out of control and rammed into the motorcycle, killing all three riders on the spot. Police rushed to the scene and sent the bodies for post-mortem examination, Saha added.
In Muzaffarnagar's Charthawal town, a 30-year-old woman, identified as Imrana, was killed while another woman was injured after a speeding car hit them on Rajbaha Road.
Circle Officer Ravishankar said the victims were walking when the car struck them, throwing Imrana into a canal. She was declared dead by the doctors.
Following the incident, villagers staged a protest demanding action against the driver, who fled the spot without the vehicle. Police said efforts are underway to trace and arrest the accused.
In another incident in Deoria district, three persons were killed, and two others seriously injured when a car crashed into a tree in the Baghochghat area late Tuesday night, police said.
The accident occurred near Haji Market when a Bihar-registered Swift car coming from Pakaha went out of control and rammed into a roadside tree, leaving the vehicle badly mangled.
Police said five people were travelling in the car. Three of them died on the spot, while two injured persons were admitted to Maharshi Devaraha Baba Medical College in Deoria.
The deceased have been identified as Karan Kushwaha, a resident of Gopalganj district in Bihar, and Pintu Kumar of Dulharpur village under Phulwaria police station. The identity of the third deceased is yet to be established.
The injured have been identified as Govind Kushwaha (18) of Sisai village in Kushinagar and Bhola Srivastava alias Sonu (22). Police said the occupants had visited a relative's place in Kushinagar and were returning after attending a wedding function when the accident occurred.
Station House Officer Anil Tiwari said police had to use a gas cutter to rescue the victims trapped inside the vehicle.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further legal proceedings are underway, he added.
