India will compete with a 19-member badminton squad at the Asian Games 2023, in Hangzhou, China, from September 28 to October 7, at the Binjiang Gymnasium. Under the leadership of the multi-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, the Team India badminton contingent will be hoping to secure the first-ever gold medal in the sport for the country at the multi-sporting continental spectacle.
In the badminton competition, India won only 10 medals at the Asiad, which included one silver and nine bronze medals. In 2018, at the Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, PV Sindhu became the first woman to reach the final of any event in badminton for India, securing the silver medal after a tough loss to Tai Tzu-Ying of the Chinese Taipei.
But, with the progress made by Indian shuttlers in the sport across the board in the last decade or so, the first-ever gold medal for the country in badminton at the multi-sporting continental spectacle isn’t far away. In this feature article, SportsTiger looks at four top medal contenders for India in badminton at the Asian Games 2023.
1. HS Prannoy
HS Prannoy, who reached the career-high world ranking of No. 6 this year, is the top-rated singles player for India in badminton currently. The 31-year-old has won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships 2023 in men’s singles, which is one of the biggest reasons why he is a top medal contender for the Indian contingent at the Asiad in Hangzhou in the coming weeks.
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2. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
One of the greatest men’s doubles pairing of India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have taken their game to the next level in badminton in the last year or so, winning the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships 2022. They have reached the career-high world ranking of No. 2 in the year 2023, which makes them one of the safest picks for a medal at the upcoming Asian Games for India.
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3. Lakshya Sen
The former bronze medalist from 2021 at the BWF World Championships, Lakshya Sen has been in a rich vein of form on the badminton circuit in 2023. The 22-year-old has won multiple tournaments in the last few months, defeating the All England Open Badminton Championships winner Li Shifeng from China at the Canada Open, to make his intentions of winning a medal at the Asiad known to one and all.
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4. P V Sindhu
PV Sindhu, one of the greatest badminton players of India, is in the midst of a massive slump in form in 2023, stumbling to World No. 14 rank on the women’s singles leaderboard currently. The multi-time Olympic medalist has exited from 10 tournaments in the first two rounds this year, but still, she had the experience to put her best foot forward in a highly valuable multi-sporting continental event like the Asian Games, to win a medal there, when it’s least expected of her.
