Sudirman Cup 2023 Preview: India eye historic medal but must first navigate tough group

Published at :May 14, 2023 at 4:06 AM

Modified at :May 17, 2023 at 1:54 PM

Led by PV Sindhu, they are in group C alongside Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

Suzhou, China, is all set to host the 18th edition of the Sudirman Cup at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre from May 14 to May 21, 2023. A total of 16 nations - China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Denmark, Chinese Taipei, India, Singapore, Germany, France, Canada, England, Egypt, and Australia will be competing and have been drawn into four different groups.

China qualified automatically for the Sudirman Cup 2023 by being the defending champions and the host simultaneously. The rest of the countries to compete were selected based on (i) continental tournaments, (ii) via world team rankings, and (iii) world team rankings. South Korea, India, and Thailand earned the spots through Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023 while Denmark, France, England, and Germany seized the opportunity during the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships 2023.

Egypt secured the spot at the All Africa Team Championships 2023, while Australia was picked as the team to represent Oceania at the Oceania Mixed Team Badminton Championships 2023. The Pan American Cup saw Canada winning the berth for the Sudirman Cup 2023. The world team rankings led to the qualification of Indonesia, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, and Singapore. Japan made the cut through the World Team Rankings for Asia.

Groupings for Sudirman Cup 2023

Group A - China, Denmark, Singapore, Egypt
Group B - Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Canada
Group C - Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, India, Australia
Group D - Japan, South Korea, France, England

Why is Sudirman Cup 2023 a tournament to look forward to for India?

Just like the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup, the Sudirman Cup is one of the most renowned tournaments in the badminton circuit. The players at the Sudirman Cup represent their respective nations as they aim to bring glory and pride to their countries. In addition, the teams competing in the event also collect Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Ranking points.

The Indian Badminton team qualified for the tournament after clinching the bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023, which was also the nation’s first medal at the tournament.

Also Read:

Group C full squads

Malaysia

Chen Tang Jie, Aaron Chia, Goh Soon Huat, Hoo Pang Ron, Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong, Ong Yew Sin, Soh Wooi Yik, Tan Kian Meng, Teo Ee Yi, Go Pei Kee, Goh Jin Wei, Lai Pei Jing, Lai Shevon Jemie, Letshanaa Karupathevan, Siow Valeree, Pearly Tan, Teoh Mei Xing, Thinaah Muralitharan, Toh Ee Wei

Chinese Taipei

Chou Tien Chen, Lee Yang, Lu Ching Yao, Wang Chi-Lin, Wang Tzu Wei, Yang Po Han, Yang Po Hsuan, Hsu Wen Chi, Hsu Ya Ching, Hu Ling Fang, Lee Chia Hsin, Lin Wan Ching, Tai Tzu Ying, Teng Chun Hsun

India

M.R. Arjun, Dhruv Kapila, K Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Sai Prateek K, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Tanisha Crasto, Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa, Gayatri Gopichand, PV Sindhu, Anupama Upadhyaya, Lakshya Sen and Aakarshi Kashyap

Australia

Choo Kenneth Zhe Hooi, Tang Nathan, Tang Ricky, Wang Rayne, Yu Jack, Ea Kaitlyn, Go Sydney, Ho Tiffany, Somerville Gronya, Yu Angela

More Squads Here

Big names missing for India

Saina Nehwal is one of the biggest names who won’t be representing India at the Sudirman Cup 2023. The ace Indian player who has brought laurels on multiple occasions wasn’t picked up by the selectors. Moreover, the selectors might have also considered Saina’s fitness issues as one of the factors for her exclusion from the squad.

The senior national champion in women’s singles Anupama Upadhyaya will be representing India in the squad, alongside two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu. While Aakarshi Kashyap has been kept on reserves alongside Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medalist Lakshya Sen.

Players to Watch out for

Men’s Singles

HS Prannoy and K Srikanth will lead India’s challenge at the men’s singles event. The singles player will face a stiff challenge from the Malaysia team which consists of World no. 8 Lee Zii Jia, and Ng Tze Yong. While the Chinese Taipei’s star shuttler and present World no. 5 Chou Tien-Chen will give the Indian shuttlers a hard time at the tournament.

Women’s Singles

India’s most successful shuttler, PV Sindhu, will be joined by newcomer Anupama Upadhyaya in the women’s singles event. However, with the Chinese Taipei fielding Tai Tzu-Ying, the competition will be more fierce than ever between the two Tokyo Olympics medalists. Goh Jin Wei, the World no. 30, will be Malaysia’s hope at the event.

Men’s Doubles

The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are in the form of their life, will headline India’s challenge in this event besides MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila. However, despite being India’s biggest contenders in the men’s doubles, the duo will face the Malaysian pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, against whom they have lost all seven matches that they have played.

They are not the only pair who pose a threat to Satwik and Chirag as they will also square off with the Tokyo Olympics 2020 champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin. The head-to-head record between the two pairs is 2-1 in favour of the Indians.

Women’s Doubles

Young duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are expected to add confidence to the Indian lineup. The pair played an instrumental role in India’s bronze medal victory at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2022 and helped in booking India a spot at the Sudirman Cup 2023. They were also the only Indian shuttlers to reach the semi-finals of the All England Open 2023.

The pair will hope to deliver a fine performance at the Sudirman Cup as well, but it won’t be easy for Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as they will lock horns with their main rival - Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia. The other Indian women’s doubles pair, newly formed Tanisha Crasto and experienced Ashwini Ponnappa will also be looking to find rhythm as a pair.

Where and how to watch the live telecast and live streaming of Sudirman Cup 2023 in India?

Fans in India can watch the live telecast of the Sudirman Cup 2023 on the Sports18 channels on their TV. The live streaming of the tournament will be available on the Jiocinema app and website (Only Court 1 & 2). Additionally, they can also catch the streaming live on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) YouTube platform, BWF TV.