Last updated on February 2nd, 2019 at 03:02 am
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 top in the world rankings. That said there are indeed lots of Indian Badminton players competing on the world level. So I’m going to take a look at just which players we should be aware of. Obviously a couple of names jump out straight away such as former number one Saina Nehwal who has won an incredible amount of titles. Then there is the current women’s singles world number two Pusarla V. Sindhu who is looking to put pressure on world number one Tai Tzu Ying.
Indian Badminton Players – Singles
What better place to start than a look at India’s women’s singles players seeing as they already have two superstars’ players. Saina Nehwal currently finds herself just outside the top 10 in 12th position.
The question is who are the other players to look out for? Well the next player in the world rankings is Rituparna Das down in 47th place. She is only 20 years old so still has plenty of time to make an impact on the sport. Dropping further down the rankings at number sixty is Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli whom is aged 19.
Switching to the men’s singles shows the top Indian player is Kidambi Srikanth at number eight in the world. Aged 24 he has been as high as number three back in 2015. The next player is Prannoy H.S in 15th with his highest ranking being 12th.
Sai Praneeth B is next in 17th, Sameer Verma in 19th and Ajay Jayaram in 20th place. That’s an impressive feat to have five players in the top twenty. The men’s singles looks very healthy indeed.
Indian Badminton Players – Doubles
Starting off with the women’s doubles and India’s highest ranking pairing are Ashwini Ponnappa & Reddy N.Sikki in 23rd place. Next up are Sanjana Santosh & Arathi Sara Sunil in 39th followed by Jakkampudi Meghana & S Ram Poorvisha in 43rd position. Clearly the women’s doubles is not the strongest competition at the moment for India’s point of view.
Now the men’s and the highest ranking pair are at 32 in the world with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty. Then comes Manu Attri & Reddy B.Sumeeth in 33rd place and Arjun M.R. & Ramchandran Shlok at 37 and finally Francis Alwin & Kona Tarun in 43rd position.
Last but not least the mixed doubles and India’s top pair Pranaav Jerry Chopra & Reddy N. Sikki are in 17th place.
| Women's Singles | ||
| World Ranking | Country | Player Name |
| 2 | India | Pusarla V. Sindhu |
| 12 | India | Saina Nehwal |
| 47 | India | Rituparna Das |
| 60 | India | Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli |
| Men's Singles | ||
| World Ranking | Country | Player Name |
| 8 | India | Kidambi Srikanth |
| 15 | India | Prannoy H.S |
| 17 | India | Sai Praneeth B |
| 19 | India | Sameer Verma |
| 20 | India | Ajay Jayaram |
| Women's Doubles | ||
| World Ranking | Country | Player Name |
| 23 | India India | Ashwini Ponnappa Reddy N.Sikki |
| 39 | India India | Sanjana Santosh Arathi Sara Sunil |
| 43 | India India | Jakkampudi Meghana S Ram Poorvisha |
| Men's Doubles | ||
| World Ranking | Country | Player Name |
| 32 | India India | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Chirag Shetty |
| 33 | India India | Manu Attri Reddy B.Sumeeth |
| 37 | India India | Arjun M.R. Ramchandran Shlok |
| Mixed Doubles | ||
| World Ranking | Country | Player Name |
| 17 | India India | Pranaav Jerry Chopra Reddy N. Sikki |
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Conclusion
The overall sport is very healthy with several top players regularly vying for titles. There is no doubting some areas are underachieving such as the men’s and women’s doubles not having anyone inside the top 20 players.
Looking wider at the sport and India has just come away with their best ever medals haul at the BWF World Senior Championships 2017. That just goes to show that sport is still thriving and having stars such as Pusarla V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will only drive more participation in the sport.
Pusarla V. Sindhu in particular looks more than capable of challenging the outstanding current number one Tai Tzu Ying for all the major titles.
That was my look into the state of Indian Badminton and to highlight some of the lesser known Indian Badminton players. I’ll be taking a look at a different country next time so keep an eye out for that.
If you require more information about Indian Badminton you can find it over on the Badminton India website.
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