Badminton: For the first time since 2017, no Indian men's singles player in Top 10

For the first time since June 2017, no men's singles badminton player from India features in the top 10 BWF rankings that was announced by the global body on December 3. Sai Praneeth is the top-ranked Indian in the list currently, at number 11, while Kidambi Srikanth, with 55840 rating points is a spot lower at 12th.

The last time when no Indian was in the top 10 in the men's singles category was way back on 22nd June 2017. However, Srikanth sneaked into the top 10 when the rankings were announced the following week, and maintained his position in the list till 5th November 2019. Though Srikanth dropped out of the top 10 in the rankings that were released thereafter, Praneeth entered the top 10, and managed to stay put for the next two weeks. However, he dropped to 11th spot after an indifferent showing in the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships in the freshly released list.

Parupalli Kashyap is the next highest-ranked Indian in the rankings, at 23rd position, with Sameer Verma following next, at 26th. HS Prannoy and Sourabh Verma are the other Indian shuttlers in the top-30, at 27 and 29 respectively. Japan's Kento Momota leads the BWF men's rankings currently.

An underwhelming 2019 for the men badminton stars from India

The Indian men shuttlers have not had the best year on the single's circuit, with the top guns disappointing constantly. Praneeth reached the finals only once this year, at the Swiss Open in March, but went down to Shi Yu Qi of China in a hard-fought game. He reached the top four on two other occasions - in the Japan Open and in the World Championships, but failed to proceed to the summit clash. The only men's single title that came India's way this year was in September when Sourabh Verma won the Vietnam Open and Hyderabad Open.

Srikanth too did not return with a single medal this year, only managing to reach the finals in the India Open. Kashyap's best performance was a final appearance in the Canada Open in July, while Prannoy reached the quarters in three separate occasions, in the India Open, New Zealand Open and the US Open, but never managed to make the top 4. None of the Indian men’s shuttlers have won any major title (above BWF300) this year.

The dismal showing means that India will not be represented at the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals by a men's player. PV Sindhu is the lone representative from the nation in the event that starts from December 11.