Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Lakshya Sen and Malvika Bansod will lead the new look Indian men’s and women’s teams in the Badminton Asia Team Championships to be played at Shah Alam, Malaysia from February 15-20.
The men’s team had won the bronze medal in the last edition of the tournament in Manila, Philippines while the women’s team was withdrawn due to the Covid pandemic as most players were not willing to travel then.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) named the squads for the continental team championship recognizing to the performances in the two All India Ranking tournaments played in Chennai and Hyderabad last month, selecting players on the basis of aggregate ranking points scored in the two events.
The men’s doubles charge will be led by Kerala’s PS Ravi Krishna and Udaykumar Shankarprasad, who also impressed with their performance against the experienced Malaysian combination of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi at the India Open.
The combination of Simran Singhi and Khushi Gupta along with the experienced Aarthi Sara Sunil and Riza Mahreen would look to make a mark in women’s doubles.
“We have been considering domestic tournaments for selection for a while now and selecting players in the top-25 world ranking directly. But with most senior players recovering from Covid and injury, it is a good opportunity for us to give the bench strength opportunities to make their mark in the tournament,” BAI secretary Ajay Singhania said in a statement.
TEAMS:Men: Singles: Lakshya Sen, Mithun Manjunath, Kiran George, Raghu M
Doubles: PS Ravi Krishna/UdayKumar ShankarPrasad, Amsakarunan Hariharan/Ruban Kumar, Dingku Singh Konthoujam/Manjit Singh Khwairakpam
Women: Singles: Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, Ashmita Chaliha, Tara ShahDoubles: Simran Singhi/Khushi Gupta, V Nila/Arubala, Aarthi Sara Sunil/Riza Mahreen