BAI calls players for trials to pick Asian Games team

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to conduct a selection trial from May 4 to 7 to pick the team for the upcoming Asian Games.

The Asian Games, which was originally scheduled for September last year, will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8 this year.

According to the circular issued to all the affiliated state associations, the trials will be conducted at Jwala Gutta Academy of Excellence in Telangana.

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu (World No. 11), HS Prannoy (world no. 9), men’s pairing of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (World No. 6) and women’s combination of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (world no. 19) have been selected directly for the Asian Games “based on their placing in the BWF Top 20 ranking list as on April 18.”

World championships silver and bronze medallists Kidambi Srikanth (World No. 23) and Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen (World No. 24), Orleans Masters Super 300 winner Priyanshu Rajawat, national champion Mithun Manjunath and Tokyo Olympian B Sai Praneeth are among the nine men’s singles players, who will have to fight it out in the trials.

In women’s singles, London Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha, Unnati Hooda will be among the women’s singles shuttlers, who will have to grind it out in the three-day trials.

“The deadline to send confirmation of participation in the final Selection Trials to BAI is 5pm, Friday, 28th April 2023,” BAI said in the letter.

“Format of the trials will be set after confirmation deadline.”

List of Players for Asian Games 2023 selection trials:
Men’s Singles: Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat, Mithun Manjunath, Sai Praneeth, Maisnam Meiraba, Bharat Raghav, Ansal Yadav, Siddhant Gupta

Women’s Singles: Saina Nehwal, Aakrshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha, Aditi Bhat, Unnati Hooda, Alisha Naik, Shriyanshi Valishetty, Anupama Upadhyay

Men’s Doubles: MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila, Krishna Prasad/Vishuvardhan, Suraj Goala/Pruthvi Roy, Nithin HV/Sai Pratheek, Kushal Raj/Prakash Raj

Women’s Doubles: Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautham, Tanisha Crasto/Ashwini Ponnappa, Radhika Sharma/Tanvi Sharma Mixed Doubles: Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy, Sai Pratheek/Tanisha Crasto, Hariharan/Varshini, Hemagendra Babu/Kanika Kanwal.