India announces 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup squads, PV Sindhu opts out to focus on Paris Olympics
PV Sindhu was the notable absentee after the Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced the men’s and women’s teams for the 2024 BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
A 10-member team for the Thomas Cup features five singles players — HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Kiran George. World No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila are the two first-choice combinations in the doubles, with Sai Pratheek named as a backup.
The squad was decided after an online meeting of the selection committee, which comprises chief national coach Pullela Gopichand, former India stars U Vimal Kumar, Jwala Gutta, Manjusha Kanwar, Partho Ganguly, and Mallika Baruah Sarma.
In a press release, Sanjay Mishra, the general secretary of BAI, stated that a decision to have more options in singles was made considering the hectic schedule of all players this season.
“The committee felt we needed to have one additional player in the singles while in doubles they have picked top two pairs. Sai Pratheek is selected as an additional doubles player after consultation with Mathias Boe (Danish doubles coach) just in case somebody is not fully fit or needs recovery,” he said.
India are the defending champions after they created history two years ago in Thailand by defeating Indonesia 3-0 in the final to clinch their first-ever Thomas Cup title.
For the Uber Cup, the selectors decided to give youngsters preference after top players in both singles and doubles pulled out. PV Sindhu decided to opt out to focus on her preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With the top four doubles pairs also pulling out of the event citing similar reasons, the selectors decided to go with the young players who have done well at the recent National Championships.
Thomas Cup squad - Singles: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Kiran George.
Thomas Cup squad - Doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila, and Sai Pratheek.
Uber Cup squad - Singles: Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, and Isharani Baruah.
Uber Cup squad - Doubles: Shruti Mishra, Priya Konjengbam, Simran Singhi, and Ritika Thaker.