New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) India suffered a blow ahead of the Thomas & Cup Finals as the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Joly and Gayatri Gopichand have withdrawn from the prestigious tournament due to Treesa’s injury.
The Badminton Federation of India (BAI), however, named Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam as replacements in the squad.
The prestigious tournament will be held in Horsens, Denmark from April 24 to May 3. The upcoming Thomas Cup will mark the 34th edition of the tournament, while the Uber Cup returns for its 31st edition.
“Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will not partake in the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2026 due to the former’s injury. Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam have replaced the pair in the Indian women’s team,” BAI said in a statement.
The pair had also withdrawn from the Badminton Asia Championships earlier this month. They had also pulled out of the Swiss Open 2026 badminton tournament after Treesa’s injury during their opening round women’s doubles match in last month. Treesa and Gayatri were trailing 7-13 against Chinese Taipei’s Hu Ling Fang and Jheng Yu Chieh in the opening game when they had to pull out.
Meanwhile, the Uber Cup team features a blend of eras, with double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu providing leadership for a rising generation led by the promising Unnati Hooda as India looks to better its previous semifinal finishes.
India women have got a slightly tricky draw as they have been drawn alongside European team championship runners-up Denmark and bronze medallists Ukraine and defending champions China.
In the last edition of the Thomas & Uber Cup hosted in Chengdu in 2024, the Indian women, who won the bronze medal in the 2014 and 2016 editions, were ousted in the quarters by Japan.
Indian women’s team:
PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, Devika Sihag, Isharani Baruah, Kavipriya Selvam, Simran Singhi, Tanisha Crasto, Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam
–IANS
bc/
