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World No. 7 PV Sindhu and World No. 8 HS Prannoy will spearhead a strong Indian squad at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023, scheduled to take place in Dubai from February 14-19.
The two are India's top ranked players in the women's and men's singles categories, respectively.
World No. 10 Lakshya Sen, who has slipped three positions in the latest rankings, will be the second player to represent India in men's singles. Joining Sindhu in women's singles will be the 32nd-ranked Aakarshi Kashyap, winner of the Bangladesh International Challenge last month.
In men's doubles, French Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will carry India's hope alongside Krishna Prasad Garga/Vishnuvardhan Goud P.
In women's doubles, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand will have company from Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam. Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto will be the only Indian pair to shoulder mixed doubles duties.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) followed the system of selecting the top players directly by dint of their world rankings and conducting trials for the rest of the squad.
Saina Nehwal, whose ranking has now slipped to 30th, was earlier reported by PTI to have skipped the trials. World No. 28 Malvika Bansod was also unavailable for the trials.
India made the quarter-finals in the inaugural edition of this tournament in 2017 while in 2019, the team couldn't advance past the group stage. The 2021 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Full India squad
Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy
Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Aakarshi Kashyap
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy/Chirag Shetty, Krishna Prasad Garga/Vishnuvardhan Goud P
Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam
Mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto
PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy return to action next week at Malaysia Open
The Indian shuttlers will be back in action next week at the Malaysia Open, a Super 1000 event, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from January 10-15.
All eyes will be on PV Sindhu, who returns to competitive play for the first time since winning the women's singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in August. The two-time Olympic medalist suffered a stress fracture on her ankle on her way to the win, which has kept her on the sidelines since.
Seeded sixth at the event, PV Sindhu has a tough opening-round opponent in the form of former Olympic champion Carolina Marin.
Meanwhile, India's top two men's singles players, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, will clash in a blockbuster first-round match.
Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal and Rankireddy-Shetty are also part of the contingent.
