On Tuesday, the draw for India Open 2024 badminton was revealed, and much to the surprise of all, no Indian woman made it to the main draw in the women’s singles category. This is not only a huge embarrassment for the country, but also a wake-up call to all, to look at the current setup, where no new star in women’s singles is coming up. No new player to replace Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu is coming up.
While the WR-11 Sindhu is nursing an ankle injury at the moment, she is expected to make a comeback only in February. As for Saina, the road looks all but over, as she did not play much on the BWF Tour in 2023. But what is troublesome is the fact that in the last two years, no player has stepped up and challenged their supremacy.
Record to Forget
This will be the first time in the history of the India Open, since its inception in 2011, that no Indian women’s singles player will feature in the main draw of the tournament.
The BWF rankings also poorly reflect India’s lack of resources in the category. While only Sindhu makes it to the top 15, the next best is Aakarshi Kashyap at the 40th spot. Japan, South Korea, and Thailand have two players each in top 15, while China has four players in top 10.
As far as the India Open 2024 draw is concerned, An Se Young is the top seed, while Chen Yufei is the second seed.
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No Mixed Doubles Representation at India Open 2024
If that is not enough, there will be no mixed doubles Indian team at the India Open 2024. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty will be the only team in men’s doubles, while Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, and Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto will participate in women’s doubles.
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