Asian Games 2023: India's badminton contingent eyes elusive gold medal
Badminton is a sport where India has found success in the last two decades. However, the Indian shuttlers haven't had the best time at the Asiad. They have won medals in five of the 15 editions that had badminton. Their Asian Games tally consists of a solitary silver and nine bronze medals. Indians will hope that they bag a gold medal in this edition.
Why does this story matter?
With PV Sindhu's wavering form, the hope of bagging a medal from the female contingent looks bleak. Therefore all eyes will be on HS Prannoy, the men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and also the men's team event. India will hope to replicate their Thomas Cup brilliance at the men's team event and clinch gold at the Asian Games in China.
It will be a tall task for PV Sindhu
Double Olympic medallist Sindhu has been struggling for form this year. She suffered a stress fracture during her gold medal triumph at the Commonwealth Games and since then her career graph has gone downhill. However, she is India's only silver medallist at the Asian Games which she bagged in Jakarta 2018. Sindhu will look to turn up at the continental showpiece once again.
Prannoy will be one of India's favorites
Prannoy has peaked at the right time as he bagged his maiden World Championship bronze medal where he defeated Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals. He has also won the Malaysian Masters in May this year and finished as runners-up at the Australian Open. The 31-year-old shuttler has had a sensational year and would like to cap it off with a medal at the Asiad.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be gunning for gold
The men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be a medal contender for India. The duo has won three BWF World Tour titles and an Asian Championship honor this year. However, Rankireddy-Shetty had a rather disappointing World Championships campaign as they bowed out in the quarter-finals. Ranked World number three in the world, Rankireddy-Shetty will look to prove a point.
Lakshya Sen will have a stiff challenge
Former World Championships bronze medallist, Lakshya Sen is looking to re-establish himself as one of India's flagbearers in badminton. He won the Commonwealth Games gold last year and also bagged the Canada Open crown this year after a bout with injuries. Sen lost out in the quarter-finals of the World Championships this year but will look to make amends at the continental showpiece.
Can the men's team replicate the Thomas Cup success?
Indian men's team was simply exceptional at the 2022 Thomas Cup in Bangkok. They defeated heavyweights like Denmark, Malaysia and Singapore to win the historic gold medal. The entire team that won in Bangkok including the likes of Rankireddy-Shetty, Prannoy, Sen, Srikanth Kidambi and others will be available in China too. Indian fans will be hoping to replicate their Thomas Cup success at Asiad.
A look at the other key performers
Former World number one shuttler Srikanth will look to spark a surprise at the continental event. The women's doubles pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly will be keen to make the most of the major opportunity. There will be eyes on Ashmita Chaliha and youngster Malvika Bansod, who are India's future after Sindhu and Saina in the women's singles category.
A look at the Indian badminton contingent
Men's singles: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Mithun Manjunath Men's doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun Women's singles: PV Sindhu, Ashmita Chaliha, Anupama Upadhyaya, Malvika Bansod Women's doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto Mixed doubles: Tanisha Crasto/Rohan Kapoor, N Sikki Reddy/Sai Pratheek K. The badminton events at the Asian Games will start on September 28 and run till October 7.
