Lakshya, Prannoy to Lead India’s Challenge at 2022 Badminton World Championships
Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu will sit out due to an ankle injury suffered during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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Since 2011, India has participated in every BWF World Championships and has taken home at least one medal. A strong contingent on paper will be under pressure to continue that streak as the action shifts to Tokyo for the 2022 edition.
The onus will be on young Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy to lead India's challenge in the BWF World Championships, with PV Sindhu missing out due to injury for the first time in ten years.
Despite being a dominant figure in the BWF's most prestigious and challenging competition with five medals, including gold in 2019, Sindhu's hopes of travelling to Japan suffered a setback as she injured her ankle en route her first Commonwealth Games gold medal win.
The tournament begins with Round-of-64 matches in men's singles, and Round-of-48 matches in the other four events respectively. Except in the men's singles, the top seeds received byes to the second round in all other events.
Men's Singles
One of India's top medal hopes at the world championships, which begins at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, will be 2022 Commonwealth gold medalist Lakshya Sen.
In 2021, ninth-seeded Lakshya won the bronze medal. In the last edition, he was an unseeded competitor who pulled off an upset, beating Kevin Cordon, who had advanced to the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics.
He settled for bronze after losing to countrymate Kidambi Srikanth in the semi-final. Lakshya will take on World No 19 Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in the opening round at Tokyo.
12th seed Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, took home the silver medal in 2021 and will be expected to be at his absolute best in Tokyo.
He became the first Indian man to win a silver and return from the BWF World Championship finals after defeating Singaporean Loh Kean Yew in straight sets. The 29-year-old will start his campaign against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen.
B Sai Praneeth, who won bronze at the 2019 World Championships, will face Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in the opening round.
World No 18 HS Prannoy, a key figure in India's historic Thomas Cup victory in May, is in the fray and will open against Austrian opponent Luka Wraber. He missed the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and will be eager to make his presence felt in Tokyo.
Women's Singles
At the Tokyo meet, Saina Nehwal, who is unseeded, will try to get back to her best. In the absence of Sindhu and World No 6, Japanj's Nozomi Okuhara, the former World No 1 will attempt to gain the upper hand.
In the opening round, she will compete against Cheung Ngan Yi, who she has defeated three times in a row. Saina won two medals at the World Championships - a silver in 2015 and a bronze in 2017 respectively.
Malvika Bansod, who is also participating, hopes to gain some crucial experience at the highest level in her debut. In the opening round, she faces World No 21 Line Christophersen of Denmark.
Men's Doubles
India, with 26 players, remains third in player representation at the global meet. The country has high expectations in the doubles division, thanks to 2022 Commonwealth gold medalists Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
The World No 7 duo received a first-round bye but are anticipated to face Malaysia's 13th seeds, Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong, in the second round. The pair won the India Open title in January and were a crucial component in the Thomas Cup victory.
Women's Doubles
In the tournament's history, India have won only one medal in doubles - Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta. The duo won a bronze medal in women's doubles at the 2011 edition in London.
The Indians lost in the Round of 16 in 2021 after the conclusion of a long season while also having to deal with niggles.
This year, the duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, and others will compete. The pairs won bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Indian contingent:
Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, B Sai Praneeth.
Women’s singles: Saina Nehwal, Malvika Bansod.
Men’s doubles: Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Panjula.
Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy, Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam.
Mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto and Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan.
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