With less than 50 days to go; letโs look at Indiaโs chances of getting an Olympic medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics 2021 with badminton being one of the best contenders
Menโs singles star Kidambi Srikanth will not be playing in Tokyo Olympics as he didnโt qualify for the Olympics. It was the cancellation of the Singapore Open that crashed the hopes of Srikanth and he failed to make the cut to join the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics.
Tokyo Summer Olympics 2021: Indian Badminton Players On Show
We have four Indian shuttlers who will represent India at Tokyo Olympics. They are P.V. Sindhu in the womenโs singles, B. Sai Praneeth in the menโs singles and the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the menโs doubles.
Menโs Singles
- Sai Praneeth is the only participant representing India in the menโs singles at the Tokyo Olympics. The 28-year-old from Hyderabad will be playing his first Olympics.
Sai Praneeth does have the experience and achievements to let his presence be felt at the Tokyo Olympics. One of such achievement would be, he has won bronze medal in the 2019 BWF World Championships โ he became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years after Prakash Padukone to do so.
Currently ranked 15th in the menโs singles circuit, Sai Praneeth is not among the favourites to win the menโs singles at the Olympics with the likes of Kento Momota, Viktor Axelsen and Chen Long participating at menโs singles event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Menโs Doubles
The doubles pairs of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are currently ranked 10th in the world in the category of menโs doubles. The duo have pioneered India’s rise in the men’s doubles.
The pair has good past achievements, some of them would be: the duo has won a silver medal in the menโs doubles event at 2018 Commonwealth Games. They also have won the 2017 Vietnam International, 2018 Hyderabad Open, 2019 Brazil International and 2019 Thailand Open. They also finished runners-up in the 2018 Syed Modi International and the 2019 French Open.
This year the duo had a good run at the Swiss Open and Thailand Open, reaching both semifinals but couldn’t past the second round of the All England Open. The pair is currently being coached by Mathias Boe โ the London Olympics silver medal-winner.
These male players have a chance to win India an Olympic medal in Tokyo.
Also Read: PV Sindhu India’s Only Female Badminton Player At The Tokyo Olympics 2021