2 min readUpdated: Apr 6, 2026 11:22 PM IST
India’s 2023 champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will miss this year’s edition of the Badminton Asia Championships to tend to the shoulder problems of the former. BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra confirmed India’s only Top 5 ranked shuttlers will not play at the Ningbo event, starting Tuesday. The ace duo last played in March but withdrew from the Swiss Open in Basel.
Also withdrawing were the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, Mishra confirmed. The duo have been largely away from the circuit since the Swiss Open retirement, with Treesa nursing shoulder issues.
Onus on Lakshya
In Satwik-Chirag’s absence, the mantle falls on Lakshya Sen, World No 12 in singles, who starts against Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong. World No 25 Ayush Shetty has a tough opener against home favourite and fifth seed Li Shifeng. Also in the mix is Kidambi Srikanth, who gave a good account of himself at the Asian Team championships. He plays Loh Kean Yew again, a full five years after losing the World Championships to the Singaporean. HS Prannoy takes on a qualifier. Srikanth lost their last face off 21-13, 21-15.
PV Sindhu, up in rankings at No 13, leads a full quota of four Indians in women’s singles, taking on Malaysian Wong Ching Ling. All England champ Wang Zhi Yi could line up next. Malvika Bansod plays Busanan Ongbamrungphan while No 34 Tanvi Sharma will fancy her chances against Letshanaa Karupathevan. Unnati Hooda, World No 27, will be up against Supanida Katethong.
In men’s doubles, MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan have a tough opener against top seeds Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won ho. Priya-Shruti and Kavipriya – Simran are the other WD shuttlers in the draw.
The Ningbo event will be a good testing ground for India’s top mixed doubles pairing of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto. They take on a Thai pair that consists of former WD Top Tenner Benyapa Aimsaard and Phuwanat Horbanluekit, scheduled to play on Tuesday.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
