India will open defence of its title taking on Thailand in the opener of the much-awaited Thomas and Uber Cup in Chengdu, China on Saturday.
India have sent an 18-member contingent – 10 men and eight women – for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals which will be held between April 27 and May 5.
The Indian men’s badminton team at the Thomas Cup will be led by world No. 3 doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and world championships medallists in singles – HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth.
India who are the defending champions and have been drawn in Group C with other teams being Indonesia, and England.
India beat Indonesia 3-0 at the Thomas Cup 2022 final in Bangkok to win the prestigious competition for the first time.
India will face Indonesia, the most successful team in the competition with 14 titles and the runners-up in the last edition, on May 1. India will play England on April 29.
The top two teams from each of the four groups (A–D) will qualify for the quarter-finals.
On the other hand, India have fielded a young squad for the Uber Cup that features 17-year-old national champion Anmol Kharb, Ashmita Chaliha and Tanvi Sharma.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu opted out of this year’s Uber Cup to focus on the Paris Games.
Top-ranked women’s doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Gayatri Gopichand-Treesa Jolly have also opted out.
The women’s team has been drawn in Group A where they will face hosts China, Canada and Singapore.
They will begin their Uber Cup campaign against Canada on 27 April
Team for Thomas Cup
(Singles) HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George;
(Doubles) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek
Team for Uber Cup;
(Singles) Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha and Isharani Baruah; (Doubles) Shruti Mishra, Priya Konjengbam, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker