PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy to lead Indian team for 2023 Sudirman Cup; Lakshya Sen in reserves

The Badminton Association of India (BAI), on Wednesday, announced a 15-member Indian team, including two reserves, for the 2023 Sudirman Cup.

The Indian contingent for the global event will be led by the double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu. She will be joined by the likes of Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the squad.

The newly crowned women's singles national champion Anupama Upadhaya has also found a place in the squad alongside the second-choice men's doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Arjun MR.

The women's doubles section will see Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly shouldering the responsibilities alongside the pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto, who recently won the Senior Ranking Tournament.

Crasto will also pair up with Sai Prateek in mixed doubles in the absence of her regular partner Ishaan Bhatnagar, who is still recovering from an injury he sustained during the National Championships earlier this year.

The recent drop in form and subsequent break from the sport did not seemed to have gone against the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist Lakshya Sen, who has been named as reserve in the team. The 21-year-old has also dropped to number 3 Indian in the BWF men's singles rankings.

Aakarshi Kashyap, who has long been the second choice women's singles shuttler for India, finds herself in the reserves with Upadhaya pipping her to the main squad.

The 2023 Sudirman Cup will be played from 14th to 21st May in Suzhou, China.

India have been drawn in Group C alongside Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, and Australia for the tournament.

Complete Squad:

Men's Singles: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth

Women's Singles: PV Sindhu, Anupama Upadhaya

Men's Doubles: Satwik/Chirag, Dhruv/Arjun

Women's Doubles: Gayatri/Treesa, Tanisha/Ashwini

Mixed Doubles: Prateek/Tanisha

Reserves: Lakshya Sen, Aakarshi Kashyap