National badminton camp for Sudirman Cup, Thomas and Uber Cup begins in Hyderabad

A national badminton camp for the preparations of the Sudirman Cup and Thomas & Uber Cup got underway in Hyderabad. The Sudirman Cup will be played in Vantaa, Finland, between September 26 and October 3, 2021, while Thomas and Uber will be held in Denmark from October 9 to 17.

The ten-day long national camp for the Sudirman Cup begins in Hyderabad on September 12. All the members of the Indian squad have joined the camp after completing their respective visa formalities in New Delhi.

The national camp is being held simultaneously at the Gachibowli Stadium and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. While singles players mostly train in Gachibowli, doubles players are preparing at the Gopichand Academy.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medal winner PV Sindhu was not part of the camp as she has opted to rest for the twin tournaments. Saina Nehwal has joined the camp to prepare for the Uber Cup. Several youngsters are in the camp including Malvika Bansod, Aditi Bhat and a new emerging doubles combination of Tanisha Crasto and Rutaparna Panda.

The Indian team was selected on the basis of trials conducted earlier this month at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.

Malvika Bansod, who turned 20 on Wednesday, emerged women’s singles winner and was rewarded with a berth in both the Sudirman Cup as well as the Uber Cup. Teenage doubles pair Tanisha Crasto and Rutaparna Panda won the women’s doubles competition in the trials.

Tanisha Crasto is one of the talents to look out for.

Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand is supervising the camp. Foreign coaches Agus Dwi Santosa and Dwi Kristiawan of Indonesia are assisting him. Chief junior national coach Sanjay Mishra will join the camp on September 17 after completing his visa formalities in New Delhi. The Indian team will fly to Finland on September 21.

The 2021 Sudirman Cup will be the 17th edition. The biennial international badminton championship has been contested by the mixed national teams of the member associations of Badminton World Federation, since its inception in 1989.

India have been drawn with defending champions China, three-time semi-finalists Thailand and hosts Finland in Group A of the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals.

India and Finland have been seeded in the 9-16 bracket in the 16-team tournament. China, who have won the Sudirman Cup 11 times in its 16 editions, are the top seeds, while Thailand are in the 5/8 bracket. Japan, runners-up in the previous edition in 2019, are the second seeds.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. There are five matches in a Sudirman Cup tie -- men’s singles, women's singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Doubles are very important in the Sudirman Cup.

India will take on Thailand in the Sudirman Cup opener on September 26

In the opening encounter on September 26, India will face Thailand. On September 27, India will clash with defending champions China, while Thailand will lock horns with hosts Finland. After a day’s rest, India will square off against Finland on September 29.

B Sai Praneeth will spearhead India's challenge in the men's section

India will have to win two out of their three matches to qualify for the knock-outs. India should beat Finland but will find it difficult to negotiate with holders China and formidable Thailand.

The Indian team is likely to travel to Denmark directly from Finland for the Thomas and Uber Cup as there is only a week’s gap between the two tournaments.

Sudirman Cup Squad

B Sai Praneeth (PSPB)

Kidambi Srikanth (PSPB)

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (PSPB)

Chirag Shetty (PSPB)

Dhruv Kapila (PNB)

MR Arjun (Kerala)

Malvika Bansod (Maharashtra)

Aditi Bhatt (Uttarakhand)

Tanisha Crasto (Goa)

Rutaparna Panda (Orissa)

Ashwini Ponnappa (PSPB)

N Sikki Reddy (PSPB)

Coaches

Agus Dwi Santosa

Dwi Kristiawan

Sanjay Mishra

Team Manager

Omar Rashid

Support staff

Sumansh Sivalanka (physio)

Kiran Balla (physio)

Nishant (masseur)

Raju Lomada (trainer)

Brijesh Yadav (sparring partner).