In Satwik-Chirag's absence, Sindhu, Lakshya, Prannoy bear Indian hopes at Badminton Asia C'ships

The 41st edition of the coveted Badminton Asia Championships will get underway on April 9 in Ningbo, China. The finals will be played on April 14.

This tournament provides another opportunity for players to make positive impacts on their rankings ahead of the Paris Olympics. With the ranking window for the Paris Olympics closing in April, this could be the make or break for many players and their dream of a ticket to Paris.

India have reason to be optimistic:

With almost all top-seeded Indians participating in the Badminton Asia Championships 2024, fans would be eager to see Indians do well and return with major accolades. The major news regarding Indian participation is the unavailability of the decorated duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The world no.1 doubles duo pulled out of the tournament owing to a shoulder injury to Satwik.

In their absence, much expectation will be placed on H.S Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu. They are expected to go deep into the tournament.

Since her comeback from a knee injury, Sindhu has not yet reached a semifinal. But she will draw inspiration from her performance in the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February. In the opening round itself, she will face a tricky opponent in Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia, who defeated the Indian shuttler at the Sudirman Cup last year.

Sindhu's inability to close out narrow matches will be a concern for her. At the Madrid Spain Masters, she uncharacteristically threw her racket following a loss against Supanida Katethong in a close match.

Sindhu, however, is a work in progress. This week, she will be tested again in a field that has all the top names of international badminton, including world no. 1 An Seyoung, Olympic champion Chen Yufei, Tai Tzu-Ying, Akane Yamaguchi and He Bingjiao.

A win in the first round will place Sindhu against sixth-seeded Chinese player Han Yue, whom the Indian has recently beaten her for the fifth time at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February.

If she manages to beat Han Yue, Sindhu will go up against either Yamaguchi or Ratchanok Intanon in the next round.

Lakshya will take inspiration from his performance at the Asian Games when he defeated Shi Yu Qi of China in the team championships.

The Indian player will look to better his semifinal finishes at the French Open and All England Open in China this year.

Prannoy, meanwhile, will face Lu Guang Zu in the opening round.

Kidambi Srikanth, who failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, will have his task cut out against second seed Anthony Ginting, who reached the All-England Open final this year.

The other men's singles player Priyanshu Rajawat face Malaysian star Lee Zii Jia in his opening-round match.

In Satwik and Chirag's absence, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will be carrying Indian hope in the men's doubles event. They will open a campaign against seventh-seeded Chinese Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi. Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K are also in the fray.

The Indian women's doubles duo Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will take on the Indonesian combination of Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand face China's Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning.

Badminton Asia Championships 2024 Schedule:

All the matches are scheduled to take place at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China.

Tuesday 9 April - Qualification, Round of 32

Wednesday 10 April - Round of 32

Thursday 11 April - Round of 16

Friday 12 April - Quarter-finals

Saturday 13 April - Semi-finals

Sunday 14 April - Finals

The exact order of play will be published before each day.

Indian Players At the 2024 Badminton Asia Championships:

Men’s singles main draw: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat

Women’s singles main draw: Aakarshi Kashyap, PV Sindhu

Women’s singles qualifiers: Ashmita Chaliha, Malvika Bansod

Men’s doubles main draw: Krishna Prasad Garaga-Sai Pratheek K, MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila

Men’s doubles qualifiers: Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi

Women’s doubles main draw: Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto

Women’s doubles qualifiers: Rutaparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda, Simran Singhi-Ritika Thaker

Mixed doubles qualifiers: Sathish Kumar Karunakaran-Aadya Variyath, Ashith Surya-Amrutha Pramuthesh

Where to watch the Badminton Asia Championship 2024:

The Badminton Asia Championships 2024 will be live streamed on YouTube.