May 3: World number 5 Saina Nehwal will lead India’s charge at the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur from May 9 to 16.
Saina, who reached the semi-finals at this year’s All-England Open, will lead a 10-strong squad for the Uber Cup. The team also includes Aditi Mutatkar and Trupti Murgunde as well as doubles specialist Jwala Gutta.
Ace shuttler Chetan Anand, 29, will miss out due to injury. Badminton Association of India joint secretary Punnaiah Choudhary confirmed that India’s top male shuttler will miss out. Experienced shuttlers Arvind Bhat, Anup Sridhar and P. Kashyap will lead the team in Anand’s absence.
India chief coach Puellela Gopichand will head the support staff.
This is the first time India, who are ranked 7th in both the Thomas and Uber Cup, have qualified for both the events simultaneously.
India are placed in Group D in both the events. In the Thomas Cup India are grouped with Indonesia and Australia, while in the Uber Cup India face South Korea and South Africa.
Squads:
Thomas Cup: Arvind Bhat, Anup Sridhar, P. Kashyap, Guru Saidutt, V. Diju, Sanave Thomas, Rupesh Kumar, Akshay Dewalkar, Jishnu Sanyal.
Uber Cup: Saina Nehwal, Aditi Mutatkar, Trupti Murgunde, Sayali Gokhale, P.C.Thulasi, P.V. Sindhu, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Shruti Kurian, Aparna Balan.
Coaches: P. Gopichand, Atik Jauhari, P.U. Bhaskarbabu, Archana Deodhar.