Satwiksairaj-Chirag's absence leaves India with uphill task
Former world No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj-Chirag have struggled with injuries since the Paris Olympics last August and their withdrawal from the team meet is yet another setback for them.
The duo, who are currently ranked No. 11, played an important role in helping India clinch a historic Thomas Cup crown in 2022 and their absence is a blow to their team's chances of progressing far in the Sudirman Cup which starts on Sunday in Xiamen, China.
In Satwiksairaj-Chirag's absence, India only have inexperienced pair A. Hariharan-R. Ruban Kumar in the men's doubles as the Badminton Association of India (BAI) have opted against naming a replacement.
No go: India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty are down with illness.
The talismanic pair's withdrawal leaves India facing an uphill task to survive Group D which also includes Indonesia, Denmark and England.
Only the top two teams will progress to the last eight.
Earlier, India also lost the services of top women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand who pulled out due to injury.
Youngsters Shruthi Mishra-Priya Konjengbam face a tough battle to fill the void left behind by world No. 10 Treesa-Gayatri.
India will be relying heavily on experienced stars Lakshya Sen, H. S. Prannoy (men's singles) and P. V. Sindhu (women's singles) for the points.
World No. 17 mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto will also be hoping to pull off a few upsets.
India were knocked out of the group stage in the last three editions (2019, 2021 and 2023) and last made it into the quarter-finals in 2017 where they lost to China.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Boxing body introduces mandatory gender tests
BERLIN: World Boxing has announced mandatory gender tests for men and women wishing to compete in their events, reported German Press Agency (dpa). The confirmation by the new governing body comes some two weeks before its inaugural championships in Liverpool Sept 4-14. The new policy came into effect on Wednesday. "The policy is designed to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women," World Boxing said. All athletes wishing to participate in a World Boxing competition will need to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime PCR (polymerase chain reaction) of functional medical equivalent genetic screening test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete. Last month, World Athletics also introduced a sex test for athletes wishing to compete in the female category. The gender eligibility debate gained a lot of attention at last summer's Olympic Games in Paris where Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting won gold medals after being allowed to compete by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). However, a year before, they were disqualified from the world championships of the International Boxing Federation (IBA) after allegedly failing gender tests. The IOC, which has run the last two Olympic boxing tournaments because it has suspended IBA for various reasons, has said Khelif and Lin could compete because they were born and identify as women. World Boxing was recognisd as a partner by the IOC executive board in February and is set to take over the organisation of the boxing competitions at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. – Bernama-dpa
The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Jun Hao ready to put sparring experience in Denmark to good use at worlds
National men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao in action against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in the first round of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Wednesday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Not much may be expected from men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao in his World Championships debut in Paris next week, but he could well turn out to be one of Malaysia's dark horses. Jun Hao is currently in Denmark with women's singles player K. Letshanaa and fellow men's singles shuttler Justin Hoh, sharpening their game by training with several Danish top players ahead of the major tournament. For Jun Hao, there is little he intends to change with only five days of preparation left. What matters most to him now is putting into play what he has worked on once he steps on court in Paris. 'Since it's only a few days, I don't think there is much more that can be added. The key is to make the most of this sparring experience against stronger and top players. 'I just want to bring out everything I've prepared over the past few weeks on match day and hopefully get a good result,' said Jun Hao. Based on the draw, Jun Hao could go as far as the quarter-finals if he plays to his best form, with him expecting to clear his opening round against Switzerland's Tobias Kunzi. Waiting in the second round could be world No. 14 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. Although Nishimoto is ranked higher than Jun Hao, who sits at No. 25, the Kuala Lumpur-born shuttler has the upper hand in their head-to-head with three wins from five meetings. Most recently, Jun Hao stunned Nishimoto in the first round of the China Open last month. A tougher test awaits in the third round in the form of Taiwan's world No. 6 Chou Tien-chen. Still, Jun Hao holds a balanced record against him, having beaten the Taiwanese once in two previous meetings, the win coming at the Indonesian Open last year. The quarter-finals could throw up several tough opponents including Indonesia's Anthony Ginting. However, Anthony only recently returned to action after a six-month layoff with a shoulder injury. Should Jun Hao run into India's H.S. Prannoy, their record also stands evenly at 1-1. Their last encounter came three years ago during the Thomas Cup in Bangkok. The biggest hurdle though, could be second seed Anders Antonsen. The Dane, who has been in fine form, got the better of Jun Hao in last year's Thomas Cup campaign in Chengdu. But if Jun Hao can spring a surprise and make the semi-finals, it will already be a proud achievement as it guarantees him at least a bronze medal. It would also be a fitting parallel to Datuk Lee Chong Wei's debut at the 2005 World Championships in Anaheim, the United States, when he returned home with a bronze medal.
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Pekan: No shortcut to success, we have to change our ways
KUALA LUMPUR: To truly develop athletes who can compete for honours at the highest level, Malaysia must shift its approach to sports and commit to a clear, long-term strategy. That is the view of sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli when asked what his long-term wish for Malaysian sports is. Pekan said there is no shortcut to success when competing at the highest level. "If we really want to be successful, we have to change our ways and change our mindset. We cannot continue doing things the way we are now," said Pekan recently. "We cannot only aim to be Sea Games champions when we host the games, we have to aim to become the champions when it is held abroad. "To achieve this and also be successful at the Olympics, we have to plan accordingly and focus on the long-term. "We have to look at the grassroots we have now and focus on developing them. Have a clear timeline on what these young athletes have to achieve and by when. We have to set benchmarks. "The Road to Gold (RTG) programme only focuses on current athletes and while some might see this as a shortcut (to Olympic gold), there really is no such thing when competing at the highest level. "We have to start from the bottom and our efforts have to be continuous. Development or training programmes cannot only be done when we have a competition coming up." Malaysia has emerged overall champions of the Sea Games twice in 2001 and 2017, both held in Kuala Lumpur, but has never won it abroad. The national contingent suffered its worst-ever outing at the Sea Games during the 2023 Phnom Penh edition where it finished a lowly seventh overall on 34 gold, 45 silver and 97 bronzes, falling short of the 40-gold target set for them. Pekan added that funding for national sports associations must also be stabilised. He praised the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) for their plan to establish a National Sports Endowment Fund. "NSAs need funds to conduct their development programmes. Without adequate funding, development suffers," said Pekan. "Not all associations have the ability to go out and secure sponsors on their own. "And as I said earlier, we cannot keep doing things the same way. "I think OCM's Endowment Fund is a great idea. OCM is aware of the challenges that their affiliates are facing and have come up with this. "This fund will also help reduce NSAs'dependency on government funding". OCM hopes to secure contributions from the private sector which includes corporations and foundations as well as individuals to support the Endowment Fund. OCM will then distribute the funds accordingly. OCM hopes to launch the Endowment Fund by the end of the year.
