Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and left-hander Ashmita Chaliha made it to the Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games in men’s and women’s singles while Lakshya Sen, national champions Mithun Manjunath, Anupama Upadhyaya will be part of team championship line-up.
Srikanth and Chaliha topped the men’s and women’s singles trials respectively at the Jwala Gutta Badminton Academy in Hyderabad to join PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy for the individual competitions as the selectors announced a 19-member squad for the continental event.
According to the selection trials format announced by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), three men’s and women’s singles spots along with one each in men’s and women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles were up for grabs from the trials with the top-ranked singles players also getting an opportunity to compete in the individual events to be played after the team championship.
Both Srikanth and Ashmita won all three matches in Stage 2 to assure themselves of a berth in the individual events, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) informed in a release on Sunday.The 2021 world championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen and national champion Mithun Manjunath will complete the men’s singles lineup in the team championship while Anupama Upadhyaya and Malvika Bansod will be the other singles players in the women’s team event.
The men’s doubles category was the most keenly fought contest with world no. 23 Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun, Krishna Prasad G/Vishnuvardhan Goud P and the new pairing of Suraj Goala and Pruthvi Roy K finishing with two wins each with Kapila and Arjun making the squad on a better game difference.
The experienced Ashwini Ponnappa and the up-and-coming Tanisha Crasto will be the second women’s doubles combination behind Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. Crasto will also be playing the mixed doubles events alongside Sai Pratheek K while Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy will be the second mixed doubles entry for India.
India squad:
Men’s singles: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth (Individual/Team), Lakshya Sen, Mithun Manjunath (Team)
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun (Individual/Team)
Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Ashmita Chaliha (Individual/Team), Anupama Upadhyaya, Malvika Bansod (Team)
Doubles (IndIvidual/-Team): Women’s doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto (Individual/Team)
Mixed doubles: Rohan Kapoor/N Sikki Reddy, Sai Pratheek K/Tanisha Crasto.