India will compete with a 19-member badminton squad at the Asian Games 2023, in Hangzhou, China, from September 28 to October 7, at the Binjiang Gymnasium. Under the leadership of the multi-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, the Team India badminton contingent will be hoping to secure the first-ever gold medal in the sport for the country at the multi-sporting continental spectacle.
In the badminton competition, India won only 10 medals at the Asiad, which included one silver and nine bronze medals. In 2018, at the Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, PV Sindhu became the first woman to reach the final of any event in badminton for India, securing the silver medal after a tough loss to Tai Tzu-Ying of the Chinese Taipei.
But, with the progress made by Indian shuttlers in the sport across the board in the last decade or so, the first-ever gold medal for the country in badminton at the multi-sporting continental spectacle isn’t far away. In this feature article, SportsTiger looks at four top medal contenders for India in badminton at the Asian Games 2023.
1. HS Prannoy
HS Prannoy, who reached the career-high world ranking of No. 6 this year, is the top-rated singles player for India in badminton currently. The 31-year-old has won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships 2023 in men’s singles, which is one of the biggest reasons why he is a top medal contender for the Indian contingent at the Asiad in Hangzhou in the coming weeks.
