Hyderabad: India have been handed a tricky draw in both the men’s and women’s categories for the upcoming Badminton Asia Team Championships, to be played here from February 15 to 21.
India have been placed alongside top seeds China, and Singapore in Group ‘A’ in the men’s competition. In the women’s section, India are in Group ‘D’ with second-seeded Japan and Singapore.
The tournament will be played in a round robin format, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the knockout stage.
“We always knew the draw was going to be tough,” chief national coach Gopichand said. “China and Japan are both strong teams. Having said that, we also have strong men’s and women’s teams. We have been doing well in several tournaments in singles and doubles and I am confident that we will come up with good performances.”
The tournament serves as the Asian continental qualifier for Thomas and Uber Cup. There is the added incentive of Olympic qualification points to players, and with the Rio Olympics fast approaching, every shuttler will want to bring their ‘A’ game. The four semifinalists from this tournament will be eligible to take part in Thomas and Uber Cup.
“This being an Olympic qualifying event, top players from all countries have confirmed their participation,” Gopi said. “With the tag of ‘the best team in Asia’ at stake, all countries will field their best players.
The Indian men’s team is expected to feature Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy among others while in the women’s event, Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu and Jwala Gutta will be part of the contingent wearing Indian colours. The official team has yet to be announced by the Badminton Association of India.
While the prospect of facing China in the group stage can be daunting, Srikanth is looking at the bright side. “We would have anyway had to play one of the top four sides in the group stage. It’s good that we’re going to be facing China,” he said.
The men’s side have a slight edge, with the luck of the draw seemingly having gone their way. With 14 teams in the fray, Groups ‘A’ and ‘D’ comprise three teams each while Groups ‘B’ and ‘C’ have four teams each. This means India play one fewer tie, and stand a greater chance of making the quarterfinals. The 12-team women’s competition will see three teams competing in four groups.
