World number two Kidambi Srikanth is all set to extend his injury layoff and hence, will be missing the upcoming Superseries tournament in Hong Kong, starting Tuesday, November 21.
The Indian shuttler, who has already sealed a spot for December's Dubai World Superseires Finals after winning four Superseries titles in 2017, reportedly suffered a leg injury during the recently-concluded Senior National Championships in Nagpur and was forced to miss the ongoing China Superseries Premier in Fuzhou.
Though Srikanth has recovered from the injury, Indian physio C Kiran wants the in-form shuttler to be 100% ready before he participates in his next tournament. Notably, doctors had advised only a week's rest for the Guntur lad to recover from his muscle strain.
"Srikanth is much better. The injury has almost healed. But we wanted to ensure that he is 100 per cent before he plays a tournament, not even 90 per cent, so we decided to give him another week's time rest. We want him to be very good in the tournament he plays," Kiran said, as quoted by Press Trust of India.
Sameer to continue rehabilitation
Meanwhile, world number 21 Sameer Verma will continue his rehabilitation for a shoulder injury that kept him out of Denmark Open, French Open and National Championships. The 23-year-old though maintains he will be ready for third season of Premier Badminton League, starting December 24.
Last chance for Prannoy, Saina
On the other hand, world number 10 HS Prannoy and world number 11 Saina Nehwal will have their last chances to seal a Dubai berth in the Hong Kong Open. Both the shuttlers, failed to impress in China after exiting the World Superseries Premier tournament as early as in the second round.
Only top eight shuttlers will make the year-ending event and both Prannoy and Nehwal need to get to the final stages to stand a chance of joining the elite shuttlers.
