HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen late pullouts from Syed Modi badminton

Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association, the organisers, confirmed on Tuesday the late withdrawals that happened while the draws were being finalised on Monday evening. Asian Games bronze medallist Prannoy, who had recovered from a back injury to reach the semifinals at the China Masters Super 750 last week, arrived on Monday but confirmed his withdrawal before catching a flight out of Lucknow.

“Both Prannoy and Sen cited injuries for their withdrawals,” UPBA secretary Sudharma Singh said. “Lakshya’s father DK Sen conveyed the message of his withdrawal to us. It’s disappointing, but we can’t do anything.”

At the 2012 Syed Modi tournament Saina Nehwal "retired” on match point against Russian Ksenia Polikarpova, citing a knee injury. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) officials were unimpressed and claimed that she had already booked her return tickets for that evening. Saina, however, stated that she withdrew because she didn’t want to put pressure on her knee.