Last updated on August 7th, 2024
There is no doubt that badminton is a massively popular sport in certain parts of the world, none more so than in India. Currently there are no Indian badminton players at number one in the world rankings.
That said there are indeed lots of Indian badminton players competing on the world level.
I’m going to take a close look at the health of Indian badminton and highlight the up and coming players you should know about.
The State Of Indian Badminton
Obviously a couple of names jump out straight away such as former number one Saina Nehwal who has won an incredible amount of titles.
Even women’s singles player Pusarla V. Sindhu whom was ranked number two back in 2019 has dropped out of the top ten world rankings, and currently sits at number 13 (as of August 2024).
Based on BWF Rankings 6th August 2024
Women’s Singles – Indian Badminton Players
Let’s take a closer look at India’s women’s singles players, I’ve already mentioned Pusarla V. Sindhu, but are there any others coming to challenge for a top 10 place?
22 year old, Aakarshi Kashyap is the next highest ranked player at number 39. She is followed Malvika Bandsod, also aged 22 who is ranked at 44 and 19 year old, Anupama Upadhyaya who ranks at number 45.
That’s all the player’s inside the worlds top 50, (Rankings as of August 2024).
Whether any of these players can make a real impact remains to be seen, but its slightly worrying from an Indian perspective.
| World Ranking (August 2024) | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Pusarla V. Sindhu | India |
| 39 | Aakarshi Kashyap | India |
| 44 | Malvika Bandsod | India |
| 45 | Anupama Upadhyaya | India |
Men’s Singles – Indian Badminton Players
Prannoy H. S. is the highest ranked Indian men’s singles player at number 13 followed by Lakshya Sen at 16. Both of these player are more than capable of mixing it with those in the top ten.
Other top 50 players rank at 35 (Priyanshu Rajawat), 37 (Kiran George), 38 (Kidambi Srikanth) and 47 (Sathish Kumar Karunakaran) as of August 2024.
All in all there are 13 Indian players in the top 100 men’s singles as of August 2024, which does look quite healthy. That said none of those players have made it inside the coveted top ten.
| World Ranking (August 2024) | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Prannoy H. S | India |
| 16 | Lakshya Sen | India |
| 35 | Priyanshu Rajawat | India |
| 37 | Kiran George | India |
| 38 | Kidambi Srikanth | India |
| 47 | Sathish Kumar Karunakaran | India |
Women’s Doubles – Indian Badminton Players
A look a the Indian women’s doubles reveals the highest pair are, Tanisha Crasto / Ashwini Ponnappa at number 19 in the world.
Other pairings include Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Gopichand Pullela ranked 23rd and Rutaparna Panda / Swetaparna Panda at 46.
All in all India have nine pairings inside the top 100 players.
| World Ranking (August 2024) | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Tanisha Crasto / Ashwini Ponnappa | India |
| 23 | Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Gopichand Pullela | India |
| 46 | Rutaparna Panda / Swetaparna Panda | India |
Men’s Doubles – Indian Badminton Players
Now the men’s and there are five pairs in the top 100 rankings. The highest ranked pair are Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty in 5th place.
Then comes Krishna Prasad Garage / Sai Pratheek.K at number 38 and M.R. Arjun / Dhruv Kapila ranking in 44th place (as of August 2024).
| World Ranking (August 2024) | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty | India |
| 38 | Krishna Prasad Garage / Sai Pratheek.K | India |
| 44 | M.R. Arjun / Dhruv Kapila | India |
Mixed Doubles – Indian Badminton Players
I think it’s fair to that the mixed doubles currently is not India’s strongest event with no pairing inside the top 30 as of August 2024!
The top ranked pair is Reddy B. Sumeeth / Reddy Sikki at number 32, followed by Sathish Kumar Karunakaran / Aadya Variyath at 36. In total India have five pairs inside the top 100 mixed doubles player rankings as of August 2024.
| World Ranking (August 2024) | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Reddy B. Sumeeth / Reddy Sikki | India |
| 36 | Sathish Kumar Karunakaran /Aadya Variyath | India |
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Conclusion – Indian Badminton
I think overall numbers of Indian players inside the top 100 players in each format of the sport is overall pretty good. That said, that kind of masks the fact that India are only ranked in the top 10 in the men’s doubles.
There are no other players competing regularly at the top of the sport, vying for the big titles in 2024. I think this is a real concern considering who popular the sport is in the country.
This may just be part of a cycle and the next bunch of Indian badminton superstars are already on the way.
Until then, China’s dominance of the sport only seems to grow year by year!
If you require more information about Indian badminton you can find it over on the Badminton India website.
