India's challenge grows at Badminton Asia Mixed Team after Sindhu ruled out

Without the services of an injured PV Sindhu, India will face an uphill task in pursuit of an elusive gold medal at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships which gets underway here on Tuesday.

India hope to improve on their bronze medal finish from the previous edition where Sindhu played a key role in Dubai two years ago. Her absence this year due to an injury will be a significant setback as the team embarks on its campaign in the prestigious biennial event.

Sindhu sustained a hamstring injury during a pre-tournament training camp in Guwahati on February 4, forcing her to withdraw from the tournament at the last minute. Her unavailability puts the onus on world No 29 Malvika Bansod to step up in women's singles.

Placed in Group D, India will open their campaign against Macau on Wednesday, followed by a clash with a strong Korean outfit on Thursday. A top-two finish in the group will secure a spot in the quarterfinals, and while India is likely to progress to the last eight, advancing further will require exceptional performances from the squad.

While India have never won the gold at the Asia Mixed Team Championships, they did secure mixed team gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.

India have had notable success in recent team events, including their first-ever Thomas Cup gold in 2022, the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships silver in Malaysia, and a historic men's silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The team features many key players from those victories, including HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Ashwini Ponnappa, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shetty, with all eyes on them to put up an inspired performance.

While Satwik and Chirag have been consistent with semifinal finishes at the Malaysia Open and India Open, Prannoy has been troubled by niggles after returning to action following the Olympics, where he was affected by a pre-tournament chikungunya bout. Syed Modi champion Lakshya, on the other hand, has endured a few first-round exits this season and will need to regain his form quickly.

As expectations will be high for the men's singles and men's doubles, India also boasts strength in women's doubles, with Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly repeatedly showcasing their skills. The duo recently broke into the world's top 10 on the back of their maiden super 300 title run at Lucknow and qualifying at the BWF World Tour event last year.

Adding to the experience is Ponnappa, who competed at the Paris Olympics alongside young Tanisha Crasto. The duo won the Guwahati Masters Super 100 last December and will look to put up a good show here.

The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath will also carry confidence into their first team event, coming off a gold medal at the National Games in Dehradun earlier this month.

In the last three editions of the tournament, China clinched the title in 2023 and 2019 while Japan emerged as champions in the inaugural edition in 2017. The event was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.