BWF World Juniors
Guwahati, Oct 5: Bolstered by a formidable line-up featuring current and former junior world No.1s, second seeds India will begin their campaign against Nepal in the mixed team event of the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships, beginning at the National Centre of Excellence here on Monday.
Returning to India after a 17-year gap, the championships will be held in two phases from October 6 to 19 – the mixed team event for the Suhandinata Cup followed by the individual competition for the Eye-Level Cup.
Led by experienced campaigners Unnati Hooda and Rakshitha Sree, the Indian squad carries high hopes of a historic home performance, having secured the second seeding in the tournament.
India, placed in Group H alongside UAE, Sri Lanka and Nepal, are favourites to top their group in the newly introduced best-of-three relay-scoring format, where each set will be played up to 45 points.
India, who open against Nepal on Monday before facing Sri Lanka and UAE, could run into former champions South Korea in the knockout stage – a clash that could determine their medal prospects.
Fourteen-time winners China, holders Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are expected to be the other strong contenders. Indonesia enter the event as the in-form team, having clinched the Asian Mixed Team title by defeating China in February. India had narrowly lost to Japan in the quarterfinals of that tournament.
Spectators will have free entry to the event. (PTI)
