Asia Mixed Team Badminton: Injured Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has been ruled out of the upcoming Asia Mixed Team Badminton Team Championship. Satwik plays alongside Chirag Shetty in the Men’s Doubles and the duo is ranked World No.6. His absence is a huge blow to India in the upcoming tournament that kickstarts on 14th February 2023, Tuesday. Dhruv Kapila has now been named as Satwik’s replacement. Follow Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Asia Mixed Team Badminton: Injured Satwiksairaj Rankireddy ruled out of Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023, Dhruv Kapila to be the new partner for Chirag Shetty in Men’s Doubles – Check Out
UPDATE 🚨
ℹ️: #BAMTC2023 is scheduled to begin from February 14 in Dubai, UAE.
📸: @badmintonphoto#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/tDfvqIm1rM
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) February 8, 2023
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy recently suffered a hip injury during the India Open. Satwik and Chirag were the defending champions in the tournament but Satwik’s injury made the pair to pull out before their second round contest. Earlier this year, the World No.6 pair made it to the semifinals at the Malaysia Open.
Satwik’s injury had made Chirag’s participation in the upcoming Asia Mixed Team Championship doubtful. However the BAI has roped in Dhruv Kapila as the replacement. Kapila and Chirag are set to lead India in the Men’s Doubles in the third edition of the Asian championships. It will take place in the UAE.
Dhuv Kapila usually partners MR Arjun in the BWF Tour and the duo is ranked 24th in the world. Satwik meanwhile is recovering from the injury and is expected to make his return before next month’s German Open and All England Championships.
India will face challenge from Malaysia as both the teams are placed in the same group at the Badminton Asia Championships 2023. Apart from Malaysia, Kazhakstan and hosts United Arab Emirates are also part of the group.
A total of 17 teams will take part in the tournament. All the teams have been divided into four groups. Three groups comprise four teams each, while one group alone has five teams. China, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia are the top seeded teams in the tournament. The tournament is making its return since 2019. 2021 edition of the tournament was cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.