Anup Sridhar opts out of Asian circuit

NEW DELHI: Nursing an injured ankle, Anup Sridhar has pulled out of three Asian events but the ace shuttler remains optimistic about regaining full fitness ahead of tournaments in Europe later this month.
    
Sridhar said he was unhappy with the pace of his ankle rehabilitation and so has opted out of the Asian circuit.
    
"I wasn't happy with the progress with my ankle rehabilitation so I pulled out from the Asian tournaments," Sridhar said from Bangalore.
    
Accordingly, Sridhar will miss the Japan Super Series, China Masters Super Series and the Macau Grand Prix Gold.
    
The Olympian shuttler, however, has enrolled his name into the European circuit and will be seen in action in the four tournaments, the first being the USD 50,000 Bitburger Open from September 30 - October 5.
    
He has also entered the Dutch Open, Danish Open and French Open.
    
Sridhar was injured during a match in the Swiss Open championship in March this year and has been struggling ever since.
    
His Beijing Olympic campaign was also cut short in the second round when he was sent packing by Shoji Sato of Japan in straight sets.
    
The 25-year-old will also play at the 60th Yonex Dutch Open (Oct 14-19), Denmark Super Series (Oct 21-26) and French Open Super Series (Oct 28-Nov 02) later this year.