The Badminton Association Of India (BAI) on Tuesday announced the national men’s and women’s squads for the Thomas and Uber Cup 2026 Finals, exactly a month prior to the tournaments, and there were no surprises.
The tournament, considered as the World Team Championship for men and women, will be held in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24 to May 3.
Unlike the previous edition two years ago, the upcoming one falls in a non-Olympic year and hence, there are no distractions. In fact, it will provide a glimpse of how things may turn out at the Asian Games.
Availability of all senior and experienced players combined with a fresh crop of youngsters meant that the teams pretty much picked themselves based on BWF rankings as of March 10.
Thomas Cup prospects
The men’s squad comprises the core of the team that achieved the historic Thomas Cup triumph four years ago in Bangkok — Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, H.S. Prannoy and the top-ranked pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
While Srikanth has shown signs of resurgence since May last year, Prannoy has clearly struggled for form and fitness. In the meantime, Ayush Shetty emerged as a new hope in singles, especially after his U.S. Open triumph and is the India No. 2. However, the tall, 20-year-old shuttler from Karnataka hasn’t been able to build on an impressive 2025 season and won just four matches this year. Kiran George is the fifth option in singles.
India will rely heavily on Lakshya, who recently reached his second All England Open Badminton Championships final, to provide the ideal start in a tie. During his campaign in Birmingham, the shuttler from Almora showed improvement on multiple fronts – physicality, reflexes, the art of deception, and mental resolve.
In doubles, the duo of Satwik-Chirag has had its share of injury issues and is without a title for almost two years. The Indian pair has often been caught searching for answers in flat exchanges, a tactic used to great effect by the top men’s doubles teams around the world.
Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun have the responsibility of being the second doubles pair but the squad also has Dhruv Kapila, one half of the country’s top mixed doubles team, in order to mix things up, if needed.
India is in Group A with 11-time champion China, Canada and Australia. Lakshya defeated China’s top two singles stars – Shi Yu Qi and Li Shi Feng – during his latest All England Open run but in Denmark, he will need the support of the rest of the singles cast to cause an upset.
Canada will be led by rising star and World Championships bronze medallist Victor Lai, who lost to Lakshya in the semifinals in Birmingham, the longest All England Open match in history, but the country does not have the necessary depth to beat the Indians.
India should be able to manage a Top 2 finish in its group and qualify for the knockouts but to challenge for the title, it will have to replicate the fighting spirit and the energy from Bangkok 2022.
Uber Cup chances
In 2024, India went with a completely inexperienced women’s side for the Uber Cup as P.V. Sindhu opted out to prepare for the Paris Olympics. It also didn’t feature the top doubles pairs of Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa and Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand.
P.V. Sindhu was part of the Indian sides that won bronze medals in 2014 and 2016.
| Photo Credit:
K.V.S. Giri
P.V. Sindhu was part of the Indian sides that won bronze medals in 2014 and 2016.
| Photo Credit:
K.V.S. Giri
In that aspect, the team for the upcoming tournament seems better placed with the return of two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, Treesa-Gayatri, and Crasto as a doubles specialist. The rest of the outfit is still quite young, comprising World Juniors silver medallist Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda, Devika Sihag and Isharani Baruah to support Sindhu in singles. In doubles, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi form the second pair.
Sindhu has been out of action since being forced to pull out of the All England Open due to the conflict in West Asia. But the team can always count on her big-match temperament. Her role as a mentor for the four in-form youngsters will also be crucial. Devika has won a Super 300 event in Thailand this season, Unnati clinched last week’s Polish Open title, while Isharani and Tanvi both reached the semifinals of Orleans Masters.
Placed in Group A with 16-time winner China, three-time runner-up Denmark and Ukraine, India’s primary task of qualifying for the knockout stage is a tricky one.
China has a formidable singles unit led by the newly-crowned All England Open winner Wang Zhi Yi with former Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei, World No. 5 Han Yue and World No. 10 Gao Feng Jie. In doubles too, it has three Top 10 pairs, including World No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning. The reigning champion is likely to dominate the group stage.
Therefore, India will have to fight it out with Denmark for the second qualifying spot from its group for the quarterfinals. The Indians might have the advantage in doubles but Denmark has singles players such as Line Christophersen (World No. 20), who reached the All England Open quarterfinals, and Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt (World No. 22), who defeated Sindhu in last year’s Sudirman Cup. Both Christophersen and Kjaersfeldt are capable of pulling off upsets on their day.
Despite the uncertainty regarding the availability of Mia Blichfeldt (World No. 21), who pulled out of her first-round match in Birmingham due to minor cartilage injuries, one in each knee, the European nation has another solid option in Julie Dawalla Jakobsen (World No. 45) if the tie goes to a deciding third singles rubber.
India has two bronze medals in the Uber Cup – 2014 and 2016 – with a young Sindhu being a member of both squads. A decade later, can Sindhu guide a new crop of Indian shuttlers to the podium?
Published on Mar 24, 2026
