New Delhi: All eyes will be on PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as seven shuttlers across four categories booked their tickets to Paris Olympics later this year.
The qualified Indians were confirmed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on their social media handle. The seven Indian shuttlers went through based on their BWF Race to Paris rankings.
It will be the third consecutive Olympics for Sindhu who had won medals in Rio (silver in 2016) and Tokyo (bronze in 2021). Undoubtedly, she will be leading the Indian badminton contingent in Paris. Interestingly, Sindhu is the only Indian in the women’s singles category.
Among men in single category, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen will be carrying the responsibility of the whole nation. India best chances are in the men’s doubles category with the star pairing of Satwiksairaj and Chirag. They will be among the favoirites to reach the podium.
In the women’s doubles category, all hopes lie on Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa. The duo of Satwiksairaj and Chirag, who are currently leading India’s charge in the Thomas Cup in China, has been in top form in 2024 so far. They won the French Open and opted out of the Badminton Asia Championships. However, the star duo is back and took India to Thomas Cup quarterfinals.
Indian badminton at Olympics started gaining recognition when Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games. The trend started by Nehwal was carried forward by Sindhu in the next two editions by winning a medal in each of them. Expectations will be high on Sindhu in Paris too despite the fact that the former World Champion hasn’t won a singles title in the last two years.
And if the pair of Satwiksairaj and Chirag can finish on the podium, it will an icing on the cake.
