Indian men's team aim to defend Thomas Cup crown; young women's contingent will compete to script history in Uber Cup

Considered the 'World Cup' of badminton, this competition will not directly impact the forthcoming Olympics in Paris, but it would be interesting to see how India's top badminton players perform under duress.

The historic 2022 Thomas Cup triumph remains one of the greatest achievements in Indian sporting history. The Indian men's badminton team, who entered the competition as the underdogs, pulled off an upset to win the men's World Championships for the first time. Considered the 'World Cup' of badminton, this competition will not directly impact the forthcoming Olympics in Paris, but it would be interesting to see how India's top badminton players perform under duress.

Memories abound of HS Prannoy's heroics in the pivotal quarter-final and semi-final ties, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's consistency, a young Lakshya Sen rising to the occasion, Kidambi Srikanth's iconic jump smash to cap off India's victory against Jonathan Christie, and the post-match celebrations are still fresh in peoples mind. India's men are the reigning Thomas Cup champions and have sent a formidable team, but PV Sindhu and the top doubles pairs have opted out, leaving the women's Uber Cup team with little experience.

The Indian squad is set to defend the championship that they won in May 2022, which revolutionized men's badminton in India. India entered the competition as huge underdogs, yet they won it all by pulling off upset after upset. But India could not have chosen a more difficult draw for their title defence, as they are in the group with 14-time world champions Indonesia and Thailand, which includes the current men's singles world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, and England, who are capable of causing their own upsets. As Group C's top two players go to the semifinals, India will have their work cut out for them as they take on Thailand on Saturday.

India's men's badminton players have improved in team competitions, and their victory in the 2022 Thomas Cup served as a platform for further success. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have already declared that a medal in the 2024 edition is a goal, and they frequently credit their recent string of historic successes to their Thomas Cup victory. When the 2024 Thomas Cup gets underway in Chengdu, China, Prannoy will need to perform at the peak of his game. However, he has had a difficult season thus far, losing five of the six BWF World Tour events in the first round.

Sen, on the other hand, had a forgetful 2023 and a sluggish start to 2024 that saw him lose as many as ten tournaments. He has only recently found his form again, with strong performances at the French Open Super 750 and the All England Open Super 1000 in the last two months. Once again, Srikanth is not competing in the Olympics. In the last tournament, he went undefeated in six bouts. Over the past few seasons, the former world number one has had difficulty maintaining consistency on the World Tour circuit.

Unlike the Thomas Cup, little is expected of the Uber Cup contingent because India is fielding an inexperienced side with PV Sindhu and the top two doubles couples opting out. Sindhu, who spent all four weeks of March on the European tour, has decided to skip this one to focus on her Olympic preparations. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, who qualified for Paris in the final feasible event, are also out. Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, who did not make it to Paris, will also be missing.

On the other hand, India have fielded a young squad that features 17-year-old national champion Anmol Kharb, Ashmita Chaliha and Tanvi Sharma. The Indian women's team is drawn in Group A where they will face hosts China, Canada and Singapore. India will begin their Uber Cup 2024 campaign against Canada on Saturday. (ANI)

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