Saina expected to participate at badminton nationals

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is expected to return to the Senior National Badminton Championships after a gap of six years, while other stars like P V Sindhu and top men's player P Kashyap have confirmed their participation in the event starting December 16.
World number six Saina has given her entry for the championships to be held at Siri Fort Sports Complex here from December 16-23.
Saina last played in the 2007 National championships in Patna.
The 69th Inter-Zonal championships will be held alongside 78th edition of the national competition. Delhi will be hosting the nationals after a gap of 14 years.

Apart from Saina, the prominent names vying for the coveted crown include world championships bronze medallist Sindhu, defending champion Sayali Gokhale in women's singles.
In men's singles, defending champion P Kashyap will face a strong challenge from the likes of Thailand GP Gold winner K Srikant, Ajay Jayaram, H S Prannoy.

"Almost every top player in the country have confirmed their entries for the nationals and we are confident that the tournament will be a grand success," said Apinder Sabharwal, Organising Secretary.
The championships will witness 333 players vying for the five coveted titles and a total prize purse of Rs 10 lakh.

The qualifying rounds for the individual events will be held on December 16-17 and the main competition will start from December 20. The inter-state team championship will be held on December 18 and 19.
ATS infrastructure Ltd, a residential real estate company, will be sponsoring the event.