28 talented Indian shuttlers to get international exposure benefits as part of BAI-REC partnership

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New Delhi, January 8: 28 talented shuttlers from India are set to receive much-needed foreign exposure, required to play in top-level international badminton tournaments, as part of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and REC partnership.

The players ranked between 26 and 75 in the BWF world rankings along with top performers from the recent Senior National Championships, who are not part of the national camp but have already shown signs of brilliance, are among the 28 players that will benefit from the BAI-REC partnership.

Shuttler like reigning Abu Dhabi Masters champion Unnati Hooda and Tanvi Sharma, the silver medallist at the 2023 Badminton Asia U-17 Junior Championships will be among the 28 players who will be fully funded for the tournaments.

"Badminton Association of India is committed to ensure promising talents get much-needed support to showcase their potential as the national campers even if they are not part of the national camp," said BAI Secretary Sanjay Mishra.

"Our partnership with REC will not only help us broad base these opportunities and give shuttlers more and more opportunities to participate in multiple international challenger events as well as Super 300s and thereby better their rankings as well as gain experience of playing against foreign players.

"This initiative aligns with our goals to create strong opportunities for more players to show their abilities as well as compete and benefit from the national badminton structure."

This opportunity has also been extended to the current senior nationals singles champions Chirag Sen and Anmol Kharb as well as runners-up Tharun Mannepalli and 15-year-old Tanvi Sharma - one of the youngest finalists in the history. The doubles national champions Suraj Goala and Pruthvi Roy, and Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra have also been included.

The selected players have been given an option to choose three tournaments, including two Super 300 events - the Orleans Masters and Swiss Open - from a total of eight tournaments, for which BAI will extend complete financial support to each of the shuttlers.

Players in the BAI-REC Program

Men's singles: A total of five players, who have been performing well, like Satish Kumar Karunakaran, Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, Sameer Verma, Chirag Sen and Tharun M, all feature in the list. Here is a look at the list:

1. Sathish Kumar Karunakaran (World Rank 51)
2. S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian (WR 71)
3. Sameer Verma (WR 74)
4. Chirag Sen (Senior Nationals champion)
5. Tharun Mannepalli (Senior Nationals runner-up)

Women's Singles: A total of eight women's rising singles stars from the country like Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Tanya Hemanth among others make the list. Here is the full list:

1. Aakarshi Kashyap (WR 40)
2. Malvika Bansod (WR 52)
3. Unnati Hooda (WR 56)
4. Tanya Hemanth (WR 69)
5. Tasnim Mir (WR 73)
6. Imad Farooqui Samiya (WR 74)
7. Anmol Kharb (Senior National Champion)
8. Tanvi Sharma (Senior National runner-up)

Men's Doubles: A total of 3 men's doubles teams including PS Ravikrishna and Sankar Prasad Udaykumar and national champions Suraj Goala and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy feature in the list. Here is the full list:

1. Hariharan Amsakarunan/Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi (WR 70)
2. P.S Ravikrishna/Sankar Prasad Udayakunar (WR 75)
3. Suraj Goala/Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy (Senior Nationals champions)

Women's Doubles: A total of four teams including the pairs of Ashwini Bhat K & Shikha Gautam as well as the Panda duo and Simran Singhi & Ritika Thaker pair feature in the list. Here is the full list:

1. Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam (WR 49)
2. Rutaparna Panda/Swetaparna Panda (WR 52)
3. Simran Singh/Ritika Thaker (WR 63)
4. Priya Konjengbam/Shruti Mishra (Senior National champions)

Mixed Doubles: Only one mixed doubles team is set to benefit from the BAI-REC partnership funding for Indian shuttlers to gain international exposure. Here is a look at the pair:

1. Sathish Kumar Karunakaran/Aadya Variyath (WR 64)

Source: BAI Release