Sept. 2: Ace shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand will spearhead India’s challenge in the badminton event of the Commonwealth Games here from October 3 to 14. The Badminton Association of India on Thursday announced a strong 10-member squad, including five women, for the Games.
World number three Saina, one of the medal hopes for the country, and 2010 Asian Badminton Championship quarterfinalist Aditi Mutatkar will represent the country in women’s singles.
The 2006 Melbourne Games bronze medallist Chetan Anand will lead India in the men’s singles, along with P. Kashyap, who reached the semifinals of the Singapore Super Series in June. India’s most successful doubles players, Jwala Gutta and V. Diju, will carry medal hopes for the country in the mixed doubles category.
The squad
Men: Chetan Anand, Parupalli Kashyap, Sanave Thomas, Rupesh Kumar, V. Diju. Women: Saina Nehwal, Aditi Mutatkar, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Aparna Balan. Coaches: Pullela Gopichand; Atik Jauhari.