Badminton star PV Sindhu’s bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen’s silver and bronze medals at the World Championships in Spain made 2021 a historic year for the Indian cowboys. By looking at the remarkable performance of these players, one can be sure that they will continue their resurgence in 2022.
It will be a very busy season next year for the Indians as they will play at least 20 events, starting with the Yonex Sunrise India Open on January 11-16 in Delhi and ending with the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022, 14-22. December in Guangzhou. China.
Besides Sindhu, Indian badminton has high hopes for Srikanth, Sen, Parupalli Kashyap, B Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy and their teammates Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in 2022.
Srikanth, 28, struggled with his form and fitness, with the lowest point coming when he failed to secure a spot at the Tokyo Olympics. But with two semi-finals at the Hylo Open in Germany in November 2021 and the Masters in Indonesia, as well as a silver medal at the World Championship, he has a very promising year ahead of him.
It was Srikanth’s last appearance since the 2019 Indian Open in Delhi, where he lost to Dane Viktor Axelsen. After the clash in the World Championship final, newly crowned champion Loh Kean Yew from Singapore and silver medalist Srikanth are expected to meet again at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open.
Also Read – Badminton in 2021: Sindhu’s Journey to Greatness, Srikanth’s Rise and Lakshya’s Rise
With his youthful exuberance, Sen planned a final at the Dutch Open in July 2021, reached the semi-finals at the Hylo Open and then reached the knockout stage of the World Tour Finals on his debut, where he shone with a bronze.
The 20-year-old showed his class and eliminated top players like Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto and Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon on his way to the podium at the World Championship.
However, the 26-year-old Sindhu will have to overcome fierce competition in 2022 from players such as Taiwanese Tai Tzu Ying, Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and Spain’s Carolina Marin, who are recovering from injuries. These are the names that Sindhu has to compete with in almost every international event.
Former world No. 1 Saina Nehwal, who missed the World Championship for the first time in her career due to multiple injuries, is expected to return in 2022. However, the 31-year-old has not made any announcements about her return. . Saina has battled injuries since winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Over the past two years, he has lost several tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics, due to injury and illness.
In men’s doubles, the promising pair of Shetty and Rankireddy reached the semi-finals of the Toyota Thailand Open, the Swiss Open and the Indonesia Open. However, an injury forced Rankireddy to be knocked out. Their victories against top-ranked opponents at the Tokyo Olympics give hope for a better year ahead.
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