CHENNAI: Anmol Kharb was a revelation earlier this year during the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Malaysia. The teenager, who barely had any experience at the senior international level, punched above her weight to upset some well-experienced shuttlers to announce her arrival.
Anmol's display understandably created plenty of buzz. The 17-year-old, who entered women's singles quarterfinals along with four other Indians in the ongoing Kazakhstan International Challenge on Thursday, will once again be in focus as her name has been included in the women's team for the upcoming BWF Uber Cup Finals that is scheduled to be played in China from April 27 to May 5.
Anmol's role becomes more prominent as the women's team will be playing without the experienced ace PV Sindhu. The two-time Olympic medallist has decided to skip the event as she has been active in the last few weeks and understandably needs to manage her fitness levels with the Paris Olympics in mind.
"PV Sindhu informed the selectors that due to back-to-back tournaments leading up to the Olympics, she and her team have decided to skip the Uber Cup to prepare for the Olympics," the BAI, the governing body, said in a release.
Ashmita Chaliha, who also featured in the afore mentioned BAC, Tanvi Sharma and Isharani Baruah are the other singles players in the women's section. The BAI has been putting faith in youngsters recently, which bodes well for the future. High-quality matches in these events could potentially forge future winners.
The top doubles players in the women's section will also be giving the event a miss. Their case is similar to Sindhu's. The men's team, meanwhile, has the usual suspects in the ranks. HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, who has regained his mojo in recent times, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George will be looking to help the team retain the Thomas Cup.
World No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also be looking to make their presence felt and inspire the team. “With all the experience as top-level players themselves and years of coaching experience, I believe they have picked a very balanced team and I believe these boys can win the title once again," Sanjay Mishra, BAI general secretary, said.
Thomas Cup squad:
(Singles) HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George; (Doubles) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek
Uber Cup squad:
(Singles) Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha and Isharani Baruah; (Doubles) Shruti Mishra, Priya Konjengbam, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker