Date:01/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/01/stories/2008040160591800.htm

Sport - Badminton

Anup Sridhar is disappointed

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: Anup Sridhar, the highest ranked Indian on the World Badminton Federation list (No. 24), is disappointed that he has been medically ruled out for the Indian Open championship starting at Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Sridhar told The Hindu here, “it is indeed disappointing that I will not be there at Hyderabad. Ever since my return from Europe, I had been hoping that I would get better and play in the event. Though I feel a lot better now, I still get some pain in the left ankle. At this point, I don’t want to risk it further and have decided to opt out on medical advice.”

Sridhar has been nursing an ankle injury for quite some time now and it got aggravated during the European Tour where he had conceded his match against Taufik Hidyat in the Swiss Super Series, midway through the first game. He has since then been undergoing treatment in Bangalore.

U. Vimal Kumar, Sridhar’s coach at the Tata Padukone Badminton Academy, said: “There is a rupture which has not fully healed and he is in pain when he goes for the overhead shots. We think he needs a little more time to get fully fit.”

Sridhar wished his teammates Chetan Anand, Arvind Bhat, Anand Pawar and the rest of the Indians in the fray “good luck.”

He now plans to focus on the ABC championship which begins in Malaysia on April 10. “I have more time for it and I hope I get to play there where I had done pretty well last year,” said Sridhar, a semifinalist in the last ABC meet.