New Delhi, April 21 (ANI) — In a major setback for India’s Sudirman Cup 2025 campaign, star men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the tournament due to illness, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced on Monday.
“Men’s Doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025 due to illness. No replacements will be added to the squad,” read the official post on BAI Media’s X handle.
The Sudirman Cup — a prestigious mixed team event — is set to take place in Xiamen, China from April 27 to May 4, 2025.
A Blow to India’s Medal Hopes
The absence of the “SatChi” duo, currently one of the world’s top-ranked men’s doubles teams, could hamper India’s chances, especially against tough Group D opponents like Indonesia, Denmark, and England. Satwik and Chirag were key to India’s Thomas Cup triumph in 2022 and have consistently been India’s most dependable doubles pair.
Recent Form
Before their withdrawal, the duo had shown strong performances in 2025 — reaching:
- Semifinals at the India Open and Malaysia Open
- Quarterfinals at the Badminton Asia Championships
Team Composition and Morale
Despite the setback, team morale remains high after an encouraging outing at the Badminton Asia Championships, with standout performances from PV Sindhu and the mixed doubles team of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto.
Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will anchor the men’s singles responsibilities, while Anupama Upadhayaya will support PV Sindhu in the women’s singles category. With Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly out due to injury, the women’s doubles pair Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra steps in.
India’s Squad for Sudirman Cup 2025
Men:
- Lakshya Sen
- HS Prannoy
- Hariharan Amsakarunan
- Ruban Kumar R
- Dhruv Kapila
- Sathish Kumar Karunakaran
Women:
- PV Sindhu
- Anupama Upadhayaya
- Tanisha Crasto
- Priya Konjengbam
- Shruti Mishra
- Aadya Variyath
India now faces a challenging group stage without one of its strongest combinations — but with an experienced core and promising young talent, the team remains hopeful of progressing to the knockout rounds.
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