Badminton News: The 2024 Paris Olympics are around the corner and Indian badminton players are gearing up for the biggest event of their careers. Badminton players have time from May 1, 2023 to April 28, 2024 to qualify for the Olympics. The final list of eligible players will be published on April 30, 2024.
The criteria and qualification process are based on the “Race to Paris” ranking, which only takes into account each player's top 10 tournaments.
The NOC can enter a maximum of two players each in men's and women's singles if they are ranked in the top 16; otherwise, they will send a player until the 38-man roster is complete.
Similar rules apply to players participating in doubles competitions: the NOC is allowed to enter a maximum of two pairs if they are ranked in the top eight, while the others are limited to a single pair until the quota of 16 is reached.
So, who are the top five favorite Indian badminton players to qualify for the Paris Olympics? Let's take a look at their performance and potential.
Satwik Sairajrankireddy/Chirag Shetty
Brothers of Destruction has started the 2024 season very well and is currently in a very comfortable position to qualify. They are fourth in the race to Paris with 87,231 points in 14 tournaments. Their main challenge is to be in the top four and be seeded.
So far, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won three titles (Asian Games, Indonesia Open, Korea Open) and finished second in three tournaments (China Masters, Malaysia Open, India Open).
HS Pranoy
The second Indian player who is in a comfortable position to qualify is India's No. 1 men's singles player HS Prannoy. He is currently eighth in the race for the Parisian rankings with 73,314 points. He is aiming to place in the top eight.
PV Sindu
Struggling with injury, the double Olympic medalist will aim for a hat-trick of medals in Paris. The former world champion will return to the field during the Asian Team Championships in mid-February. PV Sindhu is currently in 13th position in the Paris race with 57,388 points and her target is to finish among the top eight. He reached the semi-finals four times during the ranking period, which is his best result.
Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto
The new women's doubles pair of Ashwini and Tanisha worked wonders in the palace. They quickly rose to the top 20 in the world rankings and became India's new women's doubles number one, beating Tressa/Gayatri who were battling injuries. The duo is currently 18th in the race standings in Paris with 48,080 points.
They won three tournaments (Nantes International Challenge, Abu Dhabi Masters, Guhawati Masters)
Lakshya Sen
Lakshya Sen, who is suffering from fitness issues and not performing well on the field, is currently in a tough position to qualify for the Olympics. He is currently outside the top 16 and if he were to qualify he would need to be in the top 16 in the qualifying rankings. Sen has a total of 51,420 points and ranks 19th in the race for the Paris rankings.
However, a few good tournaments will put him in the top 16 and help him qualify for the Olympics. He won the Canadian Open and reached the semi-finals of three tournaments (Thailand Open, US Open and Japan Open).
Article Tag: India, PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Lakshya Sen, Paris 2024 Olympics
