Sudirman Cup: Sindhu secures Chinese visa; wait gets longer for her teammates

The Indian squad for the Sudirman Cup comprises Prannoy, Srikanth, Satwik-Chirag, Sindhu, Anupama, Gayatri-Treesa and Ashwini-Tanisha.

FILE PHOTO: P.V. Sindhu in action against Zhang Yiman in the Women’s Singles match during Day Two of the All England Open Badminton Championships 2023 at Utilita Arena Birmingham on March 15, 2023. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Double Olympics medallist P.V. Sindhu is the lone Indian shuttler to secure a visa for the Sudirman Cup, the biennial mixed team world championship, to be held in Suzhou, China, from May 14 to 21. Besides Sindhu, her coach Vidhi Choudhary and physio B. Evangeline also got their visas on April 24.

Sindhu’s teammates, however, are still waiting for the same.

The Indian squad for the Sudirman Cup comprises H.S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth in men’s singles, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in men’s doubles, P.V. Sindhu and Anupama Upadhaya in women’s singles, Gayatri Gopichand Pullela-Tressa Jolly and Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto in women’s doubles.

According to a BAI official, the remaining members of the Sudirman Cup-bound team will fly to Delhi to give their fingerprints and hope to get the visa on time to participate in the championship.

“We are optimistic about this issue being resolved on time. These things are quite common and have always been addressed by the authorities over the years,” the official said on condition of anonymity.