PV Sindhu opts out of Uber Cup; Strong Indian contingent ready for Thomas Cup defence
Olympic medalist PV Sindhu withdraws from the Uber Cup, while India gears up with a formidable team for the Thomas Cup defence.
FollowDouble Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and the top two doubles pairs have opted out of the Uber Cup, but India will field a formidable men's team for the Thomas Cup title defence, set to commence in Chengdu from April 27. Sindhu, who has participated in six tournaments since her return to action at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February, decided to skip the event to allow herself more time to recover and prepare for the Paris Olympics.
With Sindhu's absence, top women's doubles pairs Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto have also withdrawn from the Uber Cup. They chose to focus on other assignments in pursuit of Olympic qualification.
In light of these withdrawals, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has rewarded players who excelled at the Senior National Championships by including them in the Indian team.
"Sindhu opted out due to her ongoing recovery from injury and to prepare adequately for the Paris Games, where she aims to secure another medal for the country," stated BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra.
India, the defending champions in the Thomas Cup, have assembled a strong squad blending youth and experience for the prestigious tournament. The team made history in Thailand by defeating Indonesia 3-0 in the final to claim their maiden Thomas Cup title in 2022.
The 10-member Thomas Cup squad includes five singles players: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Kiran George. Sai Pratheek has been named as the backup doubles player to the primary pairs of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila.
The final selection was made by the senior selection committee, comprising Chief National Coach Pulella Gopichand and former Indian stars U Vimal Kumar, Jwala Gutta, Manjusha Kanwar, Partho Ganguly, and Mallika Baruah Sarma. Mishra mentioned, "The committee decided to include an additional singles player and Sai Pratheek as a backup doubles player after consulting with Danish doubles coach Mathias Boe, to ensure flexibility in case of injuries or recovery needs."
For the Uber Cup, India will rely on emerging talents, with 17-year-old Anmol Kharab leading the singles contingent alongside Ashmita Chaliha and Tanvi Sharma.
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