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Indian women's badminton team will start their Badminton Asian Team Championship title defence without two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, who has withdrawn from the tournament due to a niggle, reported Olympics.com.
Tuesday marks the start of the sixth edition of the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, China, with the men's and women's events featuring some of Asia's top teams. A replacement for Sindhu has not been named, as the deadline to do so has passed, and India will compete without one. Rising teen stars Tanvi Sharma, a part of title winning squad two years back and Unnati Hooda are a part of the women's team alongside Malvika Bansod and Commonwealth Games medalist and world number 20 pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the most experienced players in the team. India's women's team is in Group Y alongside fourth-seeded Thailand and Myanmar. On the other hand, the men's team will be just as star-studded, with Commonwealth Games champion, Olympic semifinalist Lakshya Sen, World Championship medalists Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy and the popular men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty being the crucial part of the squad. India's men's team is in Group C alongside fourth-seeded Japan and Singapore. Each group stage match will feature five games: three singles and two doubles. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The tournament is an Asian qualifier for the Thomas and Uber Cup finals, which will be held in Denmark from April to May this year. Indian women are the defending champions in the Asian Championships, while China holds the men's title. The best finishes for the Indian men's team are bronze medals in 2016 and 2020. -Badminton Asia Team Championships 2026: India squad *Men: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Ayush Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Tharun Mannepalli, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy, Sai Pratheek K, Hariharan Amsakarunan *Women: Tanvi Sharma, Malvika Bansod, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand, Unnati Hooda, Tanisha Crasto, Priya Konjengbam, Shruti Mishra, Rakshitha Ramraj, Surya Charishma Tamiri -Badminton Asia Team Championships 2026: India's scheduleAs per Indian Standard Time (IST) February 4, Wednesday India women vs Myanmar women - 8:30 AM onwardsIndia men vs Singapore men - 2:30 PM onwardsFebruary 5, Thursday India women vs Thailand women - 8:30 AM onwardsIndia men vs Japan men - 2:30 PM onwardsFebruary 6, Friday Quarter-finals women (subject to qualification) - 7:30 AM onwardsQuarter-finals men (subject to qualification) - 2:30 PM onwardsFebruary 7, Saturday Semi-finals women (subject to qualification) - 7:30 AM onwardsSemi-finals men (subject to qualification) - 2:30 PM onwardsFebruary 8, Sunday Final women (subject to qualification) - 7:00 AM onwardsFinal men (subject to qualification) - 3:30 PM onwards. (ANI)
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