Indian talented shuttler Dhruv Kapila was named the replacement for SatwikSairaj Rankireddy on Wednesday. Satwiksairaj is out injured and hence Dhruv Kapila will take his place in the men’s doubles squad for the upcoming Badminton Asia Mixed team Championships which starts on February 14 and will continue to run till the 19th and will be held in Dubai.
Indian star men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won several accolades together for India. The SatChi duo as they are known were absolutely fantastic in India’s famous Thomas Cup and were also really good at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. However now Chirag will have to adjust with Dhruv Kapila and build the chemistry from scratch as Satwiksairaj suffered a hip injury ruling his out of the tournament. Hence Badminton Association of India were forced to name Dhruv Kapila as his replacement for the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships.
It will also be a major test for Kapila who is known for his talent and someone who is rising through the ranks in India rapidly. He will have to make things easy for Chirag Shetty as he will look to take up the mantle on himself to adjust with a new partner.
India will begin their campaign against the Commonwealth gold medallists Malaysia on 16th February as they are also in group B. Apart from heavyweights Malaysia, Group B consists of teams like Kazakhstan and hosts, United Arab Emirates.
In Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s absence, Thomas CUp heroes Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will lead the Indian team. They will be looking to make their mark in the Men’s Singles category. Whereas PV Sindhu will also be there in company as the double Olympic medallist will be looking to prove her mettle in the women’s singles category. It is a very crucial tournament for Sindhu as she will look to get back in shape after an injury layoff.
India have talented entrants in Women’s Doubles aswell as Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly will look to play fearless badminton and take their game to the next level especially against stronger oppositions. Similarly Ishan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Castro will look to give their best in the Mixed Doubles’ category.
The tournament in total will have a total of seventeen teams divided in four groups with the top two qualifying to the next round as defending champions China will be looking to defend their title.
