Satwik-Chirag pair withdraws from Sudirman Cup due to illness: BAI

India's top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Monday withdrew from the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals due to illness, in a big blow to the country's prospects at the prestigious mixed team championship to be held in Xiamen, China, from April 27 to May 4. The Asian Games gold medallists world number 11 Indian duo, were to return to action after an injury break, but the Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced that Satwik and Chirag will be missing the tournament.

"Men's Doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025 due to illness," the BAI said on Monday.

"No replacements will be added to the squad." Chirag had suffered a back injury during the second round of the All England Championships in March.

The young pairing of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi will thus be the lone representation for India in the men's doubles category. Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu will spearhead India's challenge in women's singles along with Anupama Upadhyaya, while Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will shoulder the responsibility in men's singles. 

The duo of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will compete in the women's doubles. In the mixed doubles, India will field two pairs in Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto -- who had reached the quarterfinals at the Asia Championships -- and Sathish Kumar and Aadya Variyath.

Earlier, the BAI had omitted the women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly from the squad due to injury. India, which has qualified for the tournament based on their overall world ranking, has been clubbed in a challenging Group D alongside former champions Indonesia, two-time runners-up Denmark, and a strong English outfit.