Badminton Association of India (BAI) today announced a 20-member National squad, including Odisha girl Rutaparna Panda for the 18th Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Jakarta and Palembang cities of Indonesia from August 18 to September 2, 2018.

Cuttack lass Rutaparna, a trainee of Hyderabad-based Gopichand Academy, would be the second shuttler from Odisha after Sanat Mishra to represent the country in the Asian Games. Sanat Mishra, also from Cuttack, was part of the Indian men’s team that won the bronze medal in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games.

According to a BAI release, the Federation for the first time in its history followed an elaborate process for selecting the National squad by organising two senior ranking tournaments in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The selection committee picked up seven players including Sourabh Verma, Ashmita Chaliha, Sai Uttejitha Rao, Gayathri Gopichand, Akarshi Kashyap, Rutaparna Panda and Aarthi Sara Sunil on the basis of their performance in these competitions.

Rutaparna gathered a total of 850 points from these tournaments. The selection committee met in Bangalore, while selecting the squad also kept in mind the consistency and fitness of the players over six months period as well report of coaches from the training camps and competitions as criteria for selection.

Indian badminton, which is going through its best ever phase, would definitely want to better their 2014 medal count, where they returned with just a lone bronze medal in women’s team event and also aim for glory in the individual event where a medal has eluded the country since Syed Modi’s bronze in 1982, Asian Games, Delhi. The badminton competition in Jakarta Asiad will start from August 19 and run up till August 28.

INDIAN SQUAD:

MEN: 1. K Srikanth, 2. H S Prannoy, 3. B Sai Praneeth, 4. Sameer Verma, 5. Swastik Sairaj Rinkireddy, 6. Chirag Shetty, 7. B Sumeeth Reddy, 8. Manu Attri, 9. Pranaav Jerry Chopra, 10. Sourabh Verma.
WOMEN: 1. Saina Nehwal, 2. P V Sindhu, 3. N Sikki Reddy, 4. Ashwini Ponnappa, 5. Sai Uttejitha Rao, 6. Ashimata Chaliha, 7. Rutaparna Panda, 8, Aarthi Sara Sunil, 9. Aakarshi Kashyap, 10. Gayathri Gopichand.
Coaches: P Gopichand, Tan Kim Her, Arun Vishnu, Edwin Iriawan.
Support Staff: Gayathri Shetty, Pedra Christopher, C Kiran, Arvind Nigam.
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PHOTO: File photo of Odisha badminton girl Rutaparna Panda.