CHENNAI: Indian singles shuttlers will try to throw the kitchen sink when they take part in the Sudirman Cup which is scheduled to be held in Suzhou, China next month.
The form has evaded most of India’s elite in 2023. Even PV Sindhu, who has been a flagbearer for the country over the years, has found the going tough. Part of the squad which was announced by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Wednesday, Sindhu will be looking to address all the issues that are affecting her game and get back to her best.
It’s critical for her and the rest of the team as the Olympic Qualification Period is set to start on May 1. Former World No 1 Kidambi Srikanth is another shuttler who’ll be hoping to regain his touch in the mixed team event where India has been drawn alongside Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Australia in Group C.
Srikanth has suffered some tame defeats in recent months and is in desperate search of some wins that could spark a revival. He’ll be looking at last year’s Thomas Cup for inspiration, where he played a pivotal role to help India enter the history books.
HS Prannoy, who’s the best-ranked singles player in the men’s category, has also had a slow start to the year and will be hoping to show his big-game aptitude during the event. Lakshya Sen, who has also had a subdued season so far, could only find his name in the reserve list. Anupama Upadhyaya of Haryana is the new face in the team. The domestic No 1 (as on March 6, 2023) is the second woman singles player in the side.
While singles remains a concern, the doubles players, overlooked over the years, have been on the ascendancy with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty pulling off some memorable firsts for India in the last few years. They continue to learn on the job and get better. The women’s combination of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly have showed enough signs to suggest that they belong at the elite level.
“We are confident that this team will challenge for a medal this year,” BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra was quoted as saying in a release. A medal could certainly be a timely boost for the team ahead of a rigorous calendar.
Squad: Men’s singles: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth (Reserve: Lakshya Sen). Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Anupama Upadhyaya (Reserve: Aakarshi Kashyap).
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila. Women’s doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto. Mixed doubles: Tanisha Crasto/Sai Pratheek.
