New Delhi (Sakal Times): World No.8 H.S Prannoy and World No.10 Saina Nehwal will lead India’s charge at the upcoming edition of the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup to be played from May 20-27, in Bangkok, Thailand.
The tournament which is in its 27th year of existence will see the Asian championship bronze medalist Prannoy along with World No.18 B Sai Praneeth, young and talented Sameer Verma and Junior World No.4 Lakshay Sen taking the court in the singles event of the men’s championship, while 2018 CWG Gold medalist Saina will be complemented by rising shuttlers Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy (World Ranking 64/ Junior World Ranking 5) , Sai Krishna Priya (World Ranking 66), India No.1 Anura Prabhu and India No.2 Vaishnavi Bhale in the singles competition of the Uber Cup. Anura is incidentally the first player from Goa to have ever achieved number ranking on the BAI ranking charts.
The duo of Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri along with World No 43, Shlok Ramachandran, MR Arjuna and the Indian number 1 ranked pair of Sanyam Shukla and Arun George will be responsible to drive India in the doubles category of the Thomas Cup. The tournament will see India taking on France in the opening rubber.
THE POOLS THOMAS CUP
Gr-A: China, India, France, Australia.
Gr-B: Indonesia, Korea, Canada, Thailand.
Gr-C: Chinese Taipei, Japan,
Germany, Hong Kong.
Gr-D: Denmark, Malaysia, Russia, Algeria.
UBER CUP
Gr-A: Japan, India, Canada, Australia.
Gr-B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Hong Kong.
Gr-C: Korea, Denmark, Russia, Mauritius.
Gr-D: China, Indonesia, France, Malaysia.