Indian Shuttlers Aim for Elusive Asian Games Badminton Gold

Given their unprecedented success in the recent past, expectations are high from Indian shuttlers to chase the elusive Asian Games badminton gold and return from Hangzhou with their best-ever crop.

Indian badminton players will begin their campaign with the team championships here from Thursday.

India has won only 10 badminton medals in the history of the Asian Games, including three individual singles medals, three men’s team bronzes, two women’s team bronzes and one medal each in men’s doubles and doubles. mixed.

Since the 1986 edition in Seoul, India have not won a medal in the men’s team event but have a good chance of breaking the curse this time as they head into the tournament as Thomas Cup champion, an epic feat achieved in May 2022.

The core of the team remains the same with HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in good form and the Indian team will hope that the rubbing of the green also continues when they begin the campaign on Thursday.

However, this will be easier said than done as they will have powerhouses such as China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia in the competition.

“The team is doing well. This is the same team that won the Thomas Cup, so we’re going there as world champions. I think the players who play against us know that it is not easy (to beat India), as we can. beat any team in the world,” Lakshya Sen told PTI.

PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic champion, is the only one to have come close to winning gold at the continental championships when she won silver in the last edition in Jakarta.

Besides Sindhu, Saina Nehwal’s bronze medal in Jakarta remains the only other individual medal in women’s singles, while Syed Modi was the only one to win a bronze medal in men’s singles.

With Indians performing exceptionally well in recent years, expectations are high from World Championships bronze medalist HS Prannoy and Commonwealth Games gold medalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

While Prannoy won his first bronze medal at the World Championships in Copenhagen after winning the Malaysia Masters and a final at the Australian Open, Satwik-Chirag is an Asian champion and has won titles in Indonesia, in Korea and Switzerland.

While Prannoy will be brimming with confidence, Satwik-Chirag will be hungry to get back on the podium after missing out on a medal at the World Championships in Copenhagen last month.

SINDHU IS LOW IN CONFIDENCE ====================== Sindhu, on the other hand, has always delivered on her promises in big-money events, but she arrives in Hangzhou matches lack confidence after an indifferent season following his recovery from an ankle injury last year.

Sindhu has made early exits at least 10 times this season, with her only final being the Spanish Masters in April and it would be an incredible feat if she can turn things around at Binjiang Gymnasium here.

Kidambi Srikanth, a silver medalist at the 2021 World Championships and a vital cog in the Thomas Cup-winning Indian team, has also been blowing hot and cold and is hoping to get third time lucky and add a medal to the Asian Games to his office after two unsuccessful attempts.

Nine years ago, the Indian women’s team returned with a bronze medal in Incheon, but this time it is a young team, which does not have the experience to play against the top brass.

While the doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are the second highest-ranked players in the team after Sindhu, it will be an uphill task to expect Asmita Chaliha, Anupama Upadhyay and Malvika Bansod to tame An Se Young, Tai Tzu Ying. or Akane Yamaguchi.

Among others, Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun, Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto, and Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy and Sai Pratheek/Tanisha Crasto are the other duos who will face off in Hangzhou.

Badminton will begin with team events, followed by singles and doubles events on October 2.

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2023-09-27 10:56:19
#Indian #shuttlers #aim #Asian #Games #gold