Birmingham: India’s women’s singles World No. 7 PV Sindhu, men’s singles World No. 10 Lakshya Sen, World No. 11 Kidambi Srikanth, and the World No. 8 men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty are key players to contribute to India’s success at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Sindhu who is still fresh from winning the Singapore Open on July 17, 2022, is a heavy favorite to clinch the women’s singles gold. Her presence could also strengthen India’s chances of winning the gold at the mixed team event.
In men’s singles, the 2021 World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, and bronze medallist Lakshya Sen, gave India a massive boost in both the men’s singles individual event and also the mixed team event. Based on the draw, only reigning World Champion – Loh Kean Yew of Singapore could create a threat to both Srikanth and Sen in the individual event.
After having a brilliant outing at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games – when the squad returned with 6 medals – 2 gold (women’s singles – Saina Nehwal, mixed team), 3 silvers (men’s singles – Kidambi Srikanth, men’s doubles – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, women’s singles – PV Sindhu) and 1 bronze (women’s doubles – Ashwini Ponnappa/N. Sikki Reddy), the Indian badminton team could achieve even better results especially when the men’s players just made history by winning the Thomas Cup for the first time on May 15, 2022.
India who defeated Malaysia 3-1 in the final of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games mixed team event, could very well be able to defend the mixed team gold with such as strong line-up.
Here’s the Indian badminton squad for the 2022 Commonwealth Games:
Men’s Singles
Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth
Women’s Singles
PV Sindhu, Aakarshi Kashyap
Men’s Doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty
Women’s Doubles
Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly
Mixed Doubles
Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy
