The women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly will miss out due to injury, but PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will spearhead a strong Indian singles challenge at the Sudirman Cup Finals to be held in Xiamen, China from April 27 to May 4. It has been learnt that both Treesa and Gayatri, currently ranked 10th in the world, are recuperating from shoulder issues attributed to a packed schedule last year. The duo have already featured in five tournaments this season, adding to the 22 events they contested in 2024.
The pair had enjoyed a successful run last year, clinching the Syed Modi International title and reaching the semifinals of the BWF World Tour Finals in December.
In their absence, the young combination of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will shoulder the responsibility in the women’s doubles event after being named in the 14-member Indian squad by the Badminton Association of India (BAI).
India, who qualified for the prestigious mixed team championships based on their overall world ranking, have been clubbed in a challenging Group D alongside former champions Indonesia, two-time runners-up Denmark, and a strong English outfit.
The tournament will see the return of the formidable men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty after an injury break.
Chirag had suffered a back injury during the second round of All England Championships in March.
The young pairing of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi has been named as backup for Satwik and Chirag in men’s doubles.
“The selectors have picked the best possible combination in all the five categories despite some injury worries,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) General Secretary Sanjay Mishra said in a release.
“We are no longer dependent on one or two disciplines to win the tie and that makes us a formidable force in any team event. We are confident that the team will not only make its mark in the group stages but can go on to create history by winning a medal,” he added.
Besides Sen, the men’s singles line-up also features H S Prannoy, while Sindhu will be joined by former national champion and world No. 45 Anupama Upadhyaya in women’s singles.
Sindhu, who was recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in February, had valuable match practice at the Badminton Asia Championships last week.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who reached the quarterfinals at the Asia Championships, will lead the challenge. PTI ATK PM ATK PM PM
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