Dubai: Spearheaded by a fit-again and rejuvenated PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, India will fancy their chances against Kazakhstan in their opening Group B tie at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023, starting here on Tuesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist and world No.7 Sindhu has recovered completely from a stress fracture that kept her out of action for five months last year and is gunning for success in the new season.
After winning the gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the injury forced Sindhu to pull out of the World Championships and also missed the remainder of the last season.
Having made a scratchy start to the new season in the Malaysia Open and India Open at home, Sindhu is itching for success and would be going full throttle here.
Sindhu’s back-up in the women’s singles is 32nd-ranked Aakarshi Kashyap, winner of the Bangladesh International Challenge last month.
The men’s singles will be led by world No.8 Prannoy and will also have world No.10 Lakshay Sen.
In men’s doubles, Chirag Shetty will partner Dhruv Kapila in the absence of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who has pulled out of the event due to a hip injury.
The other Indian pair in the men’s doubles is Krishna Prasad Garga and Vishnuvardhawn Goud P.
In Satwik’s absence, the men’s doubles remains India’s weakest link as it will be very difficult for Kapila to pair up with Shetty and deliver against the top men’s combinations of other Asian countries. Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will
be the lead pair in women’s doubles and will also have Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam as back-up.
Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto will be the only Indian pair to shoulder the mixed doubles duties.