With five medals, including the gold in 2019, Sindhu is a colossal figure in the BWF's most prestigious and competitive tournament, but an ankle injury en route to a maiden Commonwealth Games title triumph dashed her hopes of travelling to the Japanese capital.
This left the task of continuing India's impressive run in the tournament on the young shoulders of Lakshya, and the experienced duo of Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth.
The country has not returned empty-handed from the Worlds since the 2011 edition. It was Srikanth and Lakshya, who had ensured India's presence at the podium in 2021 when they finished with a silver and a bronze, respectively, but the field this time will be much stronger than last year.
It was a depleted field in 2021 with Japan's Kento Momota, and the Indonesian duo of Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting missing out.