High on doubles, patchy form of singles shuttlers mean India approach Sudirman Cup with cautious optimism

While India’s recent surge in doubles results makes one upbeat about any team event, the Sudirman Cup needs to be approached with cautious optimism given the relative form of singles shuttlers. India are placed alongside Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia in Group C at Suzhou, easily the toughest pool to get out of to reach the quarterfinals.
Some of the on-paper matchups are significantly formidable, for example PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying or Satwik-Chirag vs Chia-Soh or HS Prannoy vs Ng Tze Yong / Lee Zii Jia or Kidambi Srikanth vs Chou Tien Chen. Indians will need to play out of their skins to contend for a medal in the May 14-21 event in China. They start against Taiwan on Sunday.
While everyone had a three-week window to prepare for the Sudirman Cup, eventual results will hinge on strategising and stamina during the actual week. Prannoy’s canny leadership – he’s got a good read on games – and Ashwini Ponappa’s wealth of experience will prove handy. PV Sindhu will be expected to offer the solidity to the campaign.

At the root of excitement about the Sudirman Cup this year are the impressive results of doubles pairings this season – Satwik-Chirag are fresh off their Asian title and Gayatri-Treesa made the All England semis. The two pairings offer India hope and double their chances, unlike ever before. Ashwini Ponappa or Tanisha Crasto and K Sai Prateek will be a bit of the X-factor, though mixed doubles isn’t counted as one of India’s strengths here.
The doubles will need to pull out certain matches where opponents are higher ranked, just like the Mixed Asian team event in February, though the Sudirman Cup is a much tougher proposition. That they are capable of punching above their weight is well known now since the Thomas Cup triumph. However, the Commonwealth Games team final loss to Malaysia is a warning sign of what can go wrong. Yet, India would look to avenge that particularly hurting defeat and silver, when they play Malaysia in the groups.
It is in India’s singles though that the team will look to get the impetus, even if the form card isn’t oozing inspiration. Unlike the Thomas Cup where the depth took care of collecting most of three points – or two in the least – the Sudirman matches up India’s top singles player with the No 1s of other contenders every single time. So there’s no escaping Tai Tzu Ying. Especially against Malaysia, the singles will need to lock in the two points (there’s Goh Jin Wei for Sindhu) because the doubles will be very tight contests. Similarly, Prannoy or Srikanth will need to step it up against Chou Tien Chen, to give that cushioning to doubles, against Taiwan.

Australia might be the weakest of the four teams but expect their doubles to put up a reasonable fight. Every win and every set can prove crucial in this three-way race for two spots. Post that group race, the likes of China, Japan, and Korea tend to be team event beasts, very difficult to shut out with a medal on the line. There’s only so much of the Thomas Cup team spirit inspiration to riff off when heading into a tougher assignment of the Sudirman Cup.
India boasts of breadth across the five disciplines with the rise of doubles, both in the Top 15 now and will fancy their chances of going deep. But the singles will need to pull off the marquee battles and play better than their average form this season if the team hopes to advance.