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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Putin in close contact with Gulf leaders to facilitate de-escalation: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States.
"Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added.
According to the Kremlin, Putin spoke by telephone with leaders of Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
In his telephonic conversation with Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, Putin discussed the escalating situation in the region as a result of the American-Israeli armed aggression against Iran.
“Both sides expressed serious concern over the real risks of escalation of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences. In this context, Vladimir Putin underscored the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
On Monday, Putin also had telephonic contacts with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who currently chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council, Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Exchange of views was held regarding the unprecedented escalation around Iran as a result of US and Israeli aggression, which is bringing the entire region to the brink of a full-scale war with unpredictable consequences. Sides underscored the need for a swift cessation of hostilities to prevent the situation from spiralling completely out of control and to return it to a political and diplomatic framework,” the Kremlin said.
The current developments, in particular, threaten the security of many Arab states with which Russia maintains friendly relations.
Given this, President Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness to use all available means to actively contribute to stabilising the situation in the region, the Kremlin said, adding that contacts with the Gulf leaders will continue.
