3 min readFeb 20, 2023 03:42 PM IST
First published on: Feb 20, 2023 at 02:55 PM IST
Buoyed by the medal at the Badminton Asian Mixed Team Championships, a 15-day camp has been planned ahead of the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China to prepare the top shuttlers and for facilitating team bonding.
World’s most prestigious mixed team event will take place from May 14-21.
“After we finalise the team, we will conduct at least a 15-day camp for all the top shuttlers with all the coaches and physios and best sparring, because our next target is the Sudirman Cup,” Badminton Association of India secretary, Sanjay Mishra, said on Monday.
“We want the players to spend time together, and build those bonds on and off the court. It helped in the Thomas Cup, now we want the same for Sudirman which is a mixed event, so there will also be women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles players. Camps can create a family-like environment so we are keen on getting them to train together after team (selection) is finalised,” he added.
The Paris Olympic qualification starts May 1. “We will ensure no one’s qualification plans are hampered by the camp. Anyway there aren’t too many big events on at the same time,” he added.
Though India lost narrowly, 3-2 to China, the bronze medal has raised hopes that a podium can be replicated at the global mixed team event. “We came very close to beating China. We were confident of a medal but weren’t sure of the colour. But like Thomas Cup, we are not giving pressure to the players, though we were keen on getting a mixed team medal which we never had,” he added.
After Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was injured, BAI paired up Dhruv Kapila with him, and also sent the pair to Dubai to train three days in advance. “We first checked who Chirag was comfortable with and then ensured they reached earlier to check the combination in those conditions,” Mishra added.
Covid fears had first cast doubts on China’s readiness to host the Sudirman Cup but all indications coming out of there point to the competition taking place in Suzhou. “99% it will happen there only. In March they will hold a Super 100. But unlikely it’ll be shifted at the last minute,” Mishra said.
India’s new emphasis on team events stems from the confidence in doubles. “We have been winning individual medals for some time. But with doubles doing well our confidence in team events has increased. Winning helps increase the game’s popularity in the country,” he added.
India won its first bronze medal at the Asian Mixed Team Championships after narrowly losing out to China in the semifinals. (BAI Media) 
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