Saina Nehwal to skip trials for Badminton Asian Championship 2023

Veteran Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will skip the upcoming national trials set by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to select the Indian team for the 2023 Badminton Asian Championship (BAC).

Nehwal, who was named in the women's singles trials alongside the young Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap, will now skip the trial as per a PTI report. Bansod is also expected to give the trails a miss.

It is reported that the young Ashmita Chaliha will now compete with Aakarshi Kashyap for the second women's singles spot in the Indian team alongside PV Sindhu.

In the men's doubles section, MR Arjun is expected to skip the trials with an injury. This means that the pair of Arjun and Dhruv Kapila are automatically out of contention for a BAC slot.

Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy in men's singles, PV Sindhu in women's singles, and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, have been handed a direct entry to the BAC team, thanks to their higher world rankings.