Focus on men’s team & Sindhu as India chases glory at BATC

SHAH ALAM: Thomas Cup champions India will look to recreate magic when they chase the elusive crown at the Badminton Asia Team Championships, which will mark the return of double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu from injury.

The Indian men’s team, which lifted the Thomas Cup in 2022 and secured a first-ever silver medal at last year’s Asian Games, will look to go all the way in the continental event this week after finishing with bronze medals in the 2016 and 2018 editions. It won’t be a walk in the park for the Indian men’s team, who will face formidable China and Hong Kong in its group A league matches.

However, India, led by HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, will back themselves to finish in the top two and make it to the knockout stage.

The women’s team, led by Sindhu, got the rub of green as China is the only other team in Group ‘W’ and India are thus already assured of a knockout berth.

It will be an uphill task for the women’s team, which will depend on Sindhu and the two doubles pairs -- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Guwahati Masters 2023 champions Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto to provide them the push.

For Sindhu, the event would be of extra significance as she will look to test her match fitness and regain confidence having missed out on action since October last year.

The 28-year-old had suffered a knee injury at the French Open and took some time to regain her fitness and then shifted her base to Bengaluru to train under mentor Prakash Padukone at PPBA.

The continental competition will also be important for the players as it offers valuable qualification points in the race to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Focus will also be on the young and second string Indian players such as Ashmita Chaliya, 16-year-old senior National champion Anmol Kharb.