Saina Nehwal has been selected for the Asian Mixed Team Championships selection process.
After returning from three weeks of competitions in Europe, Saina, a former world number one, skipped the 2022 Commonwealth Games selection trials to manage her workload.
Saina Nehwal, a two-time Commonwealth Games champion, has been selected to compete in the selection trials for the Asian Mixed Team Championships, which will take place in Dubai from February 14 to February 19.
To complete the trials for choosing the team for the Asian competition, the senior selection committee held a virtual meeting on December 25.
The committee chose to grant direct entry to the singles players Lakshya Sen, H.S. Prannoy, P.V. Sindhu, and the men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy and Chirag Shetty based on their higher global rankings.
The 14th member of the squad will be chosen during the selection trials, which will take place in Delhi on January 2 and 3.
The BAI stated in a letter that “the members unanimously agreed that since it is a large competition with a restricted number of participants, only BWF rankings from 16 to 50 should be considered for inviting players for the trials for the remaining vacant seats.”
In addition to Saina, Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap have been invited to the trials for women’s singles, while the following men’s doubles teams have been named: Arjun/Dhruv Kapila, Krishna Prasad Garga/Vishnuvardhan Goud P, and Ishaan Bhatnagar/Sai Patheek K.
Women’s doubles bronze medalists from the Commonwealth Games Haritha Manazhiyil and Ashna Roy, Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, Ashwini Bhatt and Shikha Gautam, and Treesa Jolly and Gayatri P. Gopichand were invited to compete.
There will be one mixed doubles couple chosen for the competition from among Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan, Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy, and others.
After returning from three weeks of competitions in Europe, Saina, a former world number one, skipped the 2022 Commonwealth Games selection trials to manage her workload.
The State associations were tasked by the BAI with informing the players about the trials.
The governing body informed all of the connected State associations in a letter that if a player or pair did not indicate that they would be participating in the selection trials, the next-best placed player or pair in the BWF Top-16 to 50 on December 25, 2022, would be included in the trials.