New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS): Top men's singles players Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen, winner of the India Open 2022 on Sunday, have pulled out of the Syed Modi International Badminton Championship starting in Lucknow on Tuesday. Women's top seed PV Sindhu, who had lost in the semi-finals of the India Open on Saturday, will play the Super 300 series event.

The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too decided to withdraw from the event while doubles specalists Ashwini Ponnappa and Manu Attri too pulled out as they had tested Covid positive during the India Open last week.

The names of both Srikanth and Lakshya were not in the men's singles draw uploaded before the start of the January 18-23 BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament.

World championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth had tested positive for Covid-19 in a mandatory RT-PCR test conducted during the India Open and withdrew after playing the first round. Sen cited exhaustion after the Indian Open as the reason for pulling out of the event.

On Sunday, Lakshya Sen, who won the bronze medal in the BWF World Championship in December, went on to reach the India Open 2022 final in which he defeated reigning World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to win his maiden BWF World Tour Super 500 title.

In the absence of Srikanth and Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Sameer Verma, who had to retire from the India Open due to an injury, will carry India's hopes in the event.

In the women's section, Thailand's Supanida Katethong, who finished runner-up in India Open, is the fray but her compatriot Busanan Ongbamrungphan, winner of the Indian Open, has pulled out.