World No. 9 HS Prannoy and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will lead the Indian challenge at the 2023 Sudirman Cup, scheduled in Suzhou, China, from May 14-21.
The senior national selection committee, which met here on Tuesday, picked a “balanced” squad with an aim to clinch a first-ever medal in the mixed team championships.
The Indian men had created history last year by winning the prestigious Thomas Cup and hopes of a potential podium finished were raised further following the bronze winning performance in the Asian Mixed Team Championships earlier this year.
“Sudirman Cup is a prestigious tournament and the selectors have picked the best squad after studying the domestic and international results. We are confident that this team will challenge for a medal this year,” said Badminton Association of India secretary Sanjay Mishra.
India have been grouped in Group C along with Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Australia and their first task will be to make it to the knock-out stage from a potentially trick group.
The return of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who missed the Asian mixed team event due to injury, will bolster the men’s doubles squad while the experienced Ashwini Ponnappa and new partner Tanisha Castro will provide back-up to the All England semi-finalists Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly.
Kidambi Srikanth and reigning senior national women’s singles champion Anupama Upadhyaya will be the other singles players in the squad.
Indian team:
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.