India were clubbed alongside Chinese Taipei and Singapore in group B for the upcoming Badminton Asia mixed team championships in Hong Kong, the draw for which were announced on Thursday.
India have decided to rest top singles and doubles stars including Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu for the March 19-24 event which is sandwiched between the All England Open and the India Open Super 500 in New Delhi.
The Indian team will be led by HS Prannoy with national champion Sourabh Verma giving him company in the men’s singles while rising doubles players MR Arjun, Arun George, Shlok Ramachandran and Sanyam Shukla would shoulder the burden in the paired events.
In the absence of Nehwal and Sindhu, senior nationals semifinalists Ashmita Chaliha and Vaishnavi Bhale have been rewarded for their performance in Guwahati earlier this month. Doubles national champions Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam have also earned a place in the Indian squad.
According to the draw, defending champions Japan and Hong Kong, who are clubbed in the two-team group A, have already sealed a berth in the quarter-finals.
The group stages will be played between March 19-21 while the quarter-finals are on March 22. The last-four clashes are scheduled for March 23. The finals will be played on March 24.