Badminton World Championships: Satwik-Chirag look to script history as Sindhu eyes unlikely podium

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty once again spearhead India’s medal hopes at the BWF World Championships 2023 that starts on Monday, a year after they won bronze at the edition in Tokyo.

PV Sindhu, the 2019 champion, who has been struggling for form, finds herself at the end of a rought draw on her return to the competition after missing last year due to an injury.

In men’s singles though, unlike last year, HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth have been put into different quarters of the draw, which raises hopes of another podium finish.

2023 Badminton World C’ship: PV Sindhu handed tough draw; HS Prannoy in Viktor Axelsen’s quarter

Here’s a look at the Indian contingent’s potential paths to the podium:

BREAKING

Men's Doubles Draw - #BWC2023 pic.twitter.com/7pECpqtIIB— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 10, 2023

Men’s doubles

Rankireddy and Shetty go into the tournament as the in-form men’s doubles pair on the tour. The world No 2 duo won the Asian Championship, Indonesia Open Super 1000, Korea Open Super 500 and Swiss Open Super 300 title this year along with a semi-final finish at the Malaysia Masters.

Crucially, the pair have shown over the season that they have grown from a promising team to one of the fiercest duos on the tour. The Indonesia Open title was significant, not just...

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