India head into the Sudirman Cup woefully depleted, out of form and placed in a very tough group.
Why the pessimism?
The mixed team World Championship of badminton is one of the most difficult competitions to win a medal in, with only three countries having won the 19 editions so far. And India have been dealt blow after blow even before the tournament - to be held from April 27 to May 4 in Xiamen, China - begins.
The top doubles pairs of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as well as Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have pulled out due to illness and injury respectively. The top singles players PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen are amid a very rough patch of form. Already in February, India were knocked out of an under-strength Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship in the quarterfinals despite having almost all their top players. India have been placed in a group with heavyweights Denmark, Indonesia and England and only the top two progress.
In short, India's chances of winning a first ever Sudirman Cup medal don't look robust. Their best finish has been two quarterfinals in 2011 and 2017, and group stage exits every other time. But every obstacle can be an opportunity as this Sudirman Cup will provide a top-tier platform to test India's bench strength, particularly in doubles which has not been developed on par with singles.
Who are in India's squad?
Men's singles: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy
Women's singles: PV Sindhu, Anupama Upadhyaya
Men's doubles: Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi
Women's doubles: Priya Konjengbam-Shruti Mishra
Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila- Tanisha Crasto, Sathish Kumar-Aadya Variyath
India are full strength in singles, with Lakshya and Sindhu - both down to world No. 18 - known to raise their levels in team competitions. However, both have been struggling to string together wins in 2025. Sindhu has 3 wins in 5 tournaments either side of an injury layoff in February. Lakshya has 4 wins across 6 competitions, half of which came at the All England in March.
Their backups are HS Prannoy, who has not been the same physically since a bout of Chikungunya before last year's Olympics, and Anupama Upadhyaya, who has potential but no form guide on her side.
The men's doubles will be represented by Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, the India No 2 pair at world No 42 - a good way behind world No 11 Satwik-Chirag. The women's doubles will have world No 39 Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra. Both pairs are relatively inexperienced, and this will be a chance for them to gain elite-level experience.
There is hope in mixed doubles though, as Dhruv and Tanisha are slowly climbing the ranks in a discipline India has largely underperformed in. They are world No 17 and have the potential to cause a few upsets. Even Sathish and Aadya (WR 33) have competed at big BWF events lately and can gain valuable experience here.
Who are the other teams in India's group?
India are placed in Group D and this could have been a group of death had teams been at full strength. But badminton scheduling means that many top players have pulled out.
Denmark - 27 April
India's toughest opponent, which makes their opening fixture a virtual knockout match.
The good news, or more accurately a positive update for India is that Denmark are also depleted. Their top singles players - Viktor Axelsen and Mia Blichfeldt - are absent, which gives India a toehold in the five-match tie. Instead, they have world No 3 Anders Antonsen, who Lakshya Sen has beaten in the past, and Line Christophersen, who Sindhu has a 5-0 record against.
In doubles, they have world No 1 Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, albeit after an injury setback and European champions Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund in their ranks, which makes it a massive challenge for India.
If India can raise their game to beat Denmark, then the draw could potentially open up.
Indonesia - 29 April
Indonesia are always a threat in badminton, but it's one that India has the capability to combat... on a good day.
Their top men's singles player is Jonatan Christie, who has become somewhat of a bunny to Lakshya in big competitions (Thomas Cup, Olympics, All England). Their top women's singles player, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, has pulled out of the event and world No 11 Putri Kusuma Wardani will be a less complicated opponent for Sindhu.
The challenge though will be doubles, where Indonesia are strong. The options in men's doubles are formidable - Fajar Alfian, Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Leo Rolly Carnando, Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin. Mixed doubles too has plenty experienced names in the mix and while women's doubles is not at full strength, it's still stacked compared to India. This could be an interesting tie with qualification at stake - all the makings of a thriller.
England - May 1
England should be the easiest tie for India, on paper at least, with no top player on their roster.
They have several youngsters in their squad such as world No 95 Harry Huang and world No 196 Nadem Dalvi (men's singles) and world No 151 Freya Redfearn (women's singles) world No 55 Callum Hemming and Ethan van Leeuwen (men's doubles.)
As the last match in the group stage, this could be a good battle against India's youngsters.
In conclusion, the Sudirman Cup will be a difficult test for India's bench strength but will hopefully provide an impetus to developing the second-rung of Indian badminton as the core sport stumbles in the aftermath of the Paris Olympic blank.
The matches will be live on BWF TV YouTube channel and will likely be telecast in India on JioHotstar.