Asian Games: 'We will be favourites in team event'- Lakshya Sen

Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen believes that the Indian men's team is one of the favourites to win the gold medal in the men's team event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Indian men's team consisting of World Championships medalist HS Prannoy, former world number 1 Kidambi Srikanth, CWG champion Lakshya Sen, World number three pair Satwik Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila/Arjun MR and Mithun Manjunath.

One of the architects of India's epic Thomas Cup win last year, Lakshya has complete belief in the team.

"It is the same team that won the Thomas Cup, so we are going as world champions. I think the players who are playing against us know that it is not easy (to defeat India), as we can beat any team in the world," Sen told PTI.

Making his debut at the Asian Games, Lakshya Sen will only feature in the team event as he lost in the trials to Kidambi Srikanth.

"I don't think we lack confidence. We have this camaraderie, and we know how to go about it. All the teams are tough and we have to give our best. We will need a good, collective effort to do well there. The whole team is positive and we are hoping for a good result," Sen said.

Thomas Cup winners will be looking to end the wait of 37 years for a medal in the team event. The last medal won by the Indian men's badminton team was in the 1986 Asian Games when legendary Prakash Padukone led from the front to win the bronze for India.

The Indian men's team is seeded fourth in the event behind Indonesia, hosts China and Japan. India will directly feature in the quarter-final of the event on 29th September.

(With PTI Inputs)