PV Sindhu hopeful of travelling to Thailand from UK despite increasing travel bans due to new coronavirus strain

New Delhi: Unfazed by the worsening COVID-19 situation in England where she is training right now, world champion shuttler PV Sindhu on Tuesday told PTI that she remains hopeful of travelling to Thailand for tournaments in January despite countries increasingly banning flights from the UK. Sindhu, who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, has been training in London for the last two months and is scheduled to play her first tournament since the break in Thailand. She will have to be in Bangkok by 3 January to compete in the two Super 1000 events (12 to 17 January and 19 to 24 January). “I plan to travel in the first week of January. There is no travel ban from UK in Thailand, so I can travel from Doha. The idea is to use the Gulf route to reach Thailand,” said Sindhu, who is managed by sports management firm Baseline Ventures. Several countries around the world, including India, have imposed bans on flights on the UK because of a new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus in England. The 25-year-old had left for London in October to focus on her nutrition and fitness at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) and also has been training alongside British shuttlers Toby Penty and Rajiv Ouseph at the National Training Centre. “Thankfully, my training is going on pretty well. The national centre is not closed. It is run as a bubble centre, so I have been able to practice ahead of the events in Thailand,” Sindhu said. The Thailand leg will mark the return of international badminton but the country has been dealing with pro-democracy protest movements and has recently seen a spike in COVID-19 cases as well. Last Saturday, health officials in Thailand reported 548 new cases, most victims being migrant workers of the seafood industry in Samut Sakhon province, 34 kilometers southwest of Bangkok. “Cases in Thailand are also increasing, so there is uncertainty about Thailand event too, we really hope that things are under control and the event goes ahead. We need badminton to restart just like other sports,” said Yashwanth Biyyala, Director Athlete at Baseline Ventures. The sports ministry had recently approved Sindhu’s request to have her personal physio and fitness trainer accompany her to three tournaments in January. Sindhu last competed in March when she participated in the All England Championship, following which all tournaments were either cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, Sindhu had pulled out of the Denmark Open, one of the only two events to be held since March. The other event was SaarLorlux Open Super 100 event in Germany.