Thomas and Uber Cup: Time for debutants Ayush Shetty and Devika Sihag to step up

The men’s section is terribly hard to crack, but Indians have shown the ability to punch above their weight in team events. A further bolstering has happened through Ayush Shetty, who played first singles at the Asian teams, and gave a fairly good account of himself till he went down to an upbeat Korean, coming under pressure. That stinging loss was a good lesson for the youngster, who could line up as a fairly strong India No 2 behind Sen.

Srikanth won all his third singles at the Asians, and will hope to keep that decisive tie compact, perhaps switching with HS Prannoy across the group ties. India is pooled with China, Canada and Australia. China is always formidable, but Canada could see an All England rematch with Victory Lai for Sen.

Kiran George hasn’t had a great season, but will view this as an opportunity to make a mark when called upon to deliver under pressure, given he makes the team because of a serious paucity of talent in men’s singles. The current depth should suffice, but the fact that nobody has managed to dislodge Srikanth, 31, and Prannoy, 33, even as Srikanth stays valuable on the fifth rubber, leaves India with a lot to mull over.

Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun can reunite if needed, though Hariharan Amsakarunan, has stitched up a good run with Arjun. But with Dhruv’s experience, he is most likely to line up for the second doubles – his fragile fitness permitting.

BAI has not named any reserves, a lesson not learnt from the Asian teams when Sindhu pulled out last minute, and Sen’s back and glutes acted up.

Isharani, Devika make team

In the women’s Uber Cup event, where India will need serious big occasion nerves to take on China and Denmark, besides Ukraine, a fit and firing Sindhu will be good news. She seemed ready for the All England when the attacks in West Asia stalled her travel, a traumatic experience. But after the Asian Championships – another title she’s not won – she will look to get scything. Wang Zhi Yi is bearable for Sindhu. And Denmark who failed to seal the European teams gold, looks fraying.

Their doubles will be formidable for Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand though the duo need to fire after Jolly’s recent injury troubles. All eyes will be on Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma who could line up for the second and third singles, though Devika Sihag’s Super 300 title at Thailand Masters recently catapults her into contention.

World No 27 Unnati has the spunk, Tanvi (No 34) has the strokes, but Devika truly has the big game to trouble top opponents. Jump-smashing No 40 Isharani Baruah gets a look-in instead of Rakshitha Ramraj who played decently well at Asians but couldn’t take a match and lost her spot. Anmol Kharb also missed out, though the big shuffle will involve Devika (No 43) behind Sindhu (No 13). Malvika Bansod (No 52), and Anupama Upadhyaya (48) have both slipped.

Tanisha Crasto remains the livewire offering options in doubles to Indians for the second paired rubber, with Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi.

The selections were based on BWF rankings as of March 10 (Week 11), with the top five singles players and top two doubles pairs making the cut. Additional inclusions were made keeping team combinations in mind, with players like Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto earning spots due to their experience across doubles formats, a release said.

“We have a good mix of youth and experience in both teams. The senior players bring stability, and the youngsters are in great form. They’ve shown they can deliver at this level, which gives us confidence going into the tournament,” said Sanjay Mishra, General Secretary of the Badminton Association of India.

Men’s Team:

Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Kidambi Srikanth, H. S. Prannoy, Kiran George, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan, M. R. Arjun, Dhruv Kapila

Women’s Team:

PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, Devika Sihag, Isharani Baruah, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, Kavipriya Selvam, Simran Singhi, Tanisha Crasto