Key players to watch out from India in Sudirman Cup 2023

Published at :May 14, 2023 at 6:06 AM

Modified at :May 17, 2023 at 1:53 PM

PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy will be leading the Indian contingent.

Finally, the doubts about India's participation in Sudirman Cup 2023 have come to an end. Sigh of relief for the country, as the 16-member Indian squad will compete in China for the 18th edition of the tournament to be held from May 14-21, 2023. Interestingly, the event was supposed to take place in India, however, it was later changed to Suzhou, China.

India are placed in Group C alongside Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, and Australia. Here are the top Indian players to watch out for at the biennial badminton tournament.

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PV Sindhu

The Indian household name, PV Sindhu will be leading the contingent in China alongside HS Prannoy. Coming back to the international circuit after a long injury layoff (five months) from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Sindhu had a tough start to the season. However, she made it to her maiden final in the BWF Spain Masters and subsequently reached the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Championships 2023.

The two-time Olympic medallist will look to put on a good show in the women's singles category and build momentum going into the Olympics qualification cycle.

HS Prannoy

World Number 9, HS Prannoy will be spearheading the men's singles in the Sudirman Cup. The Keralite has grown tremendously in the past year. He was the third-best men's singles player in the Thomas Cup campaign last year and this year has turned out to be the number one in the singles.

He progressed through to the quarter-finals in the recently concluded Badminton Asia Championships but left the game mid-way due to an injury scare. He will need to step up the ante and get back to his best for India to medal at the Championships.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty

The dynamic pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are fresh off from their gold medal stint at the Asia Badminton Championship 2023. The Commonwealth Games champions are set to take on Olympic champion from Chinese Taipei in the opening tie, against whom they have a good h2h record. The Indian duo played a major role in the Thomas Cup triumph in 2022 and similarly shall play a major role at the Sudirman Cup 2023 as well.

Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly

Gayatri and Treesa had an exceptional run at the All England Open this year, where they secured a place in the semi-finals. The duo also played a significant role at the Asia Mixed Team Championships earlier this year, which enabled India to directly qualify for the Sudirman Cup 2023 finals. The Commonwealth Games silver medallists will be making their maiden appearance in the Sudirman Cup 2023.