14-year-old Unnati Hooda named in Indian badminton team for Asian Games

Unnati Hooda, 14, was on Thursday named in the Indian badminton team for the upcoming Asian Games as the national federation announced the squads for the major events this year, including the Commonwealth Games, Thomas and Uber Cup. The teams were named by Badminton Association of India (BAI) following six days of selection trials at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here. Hooda is the youngest Indian badminton player to be part of the Asian Games squad. Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will spearhead the women's challenge in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games while London Olympics bronze winner Saina Nehwal did not expectedly feature in the squads.

World Championships medallists Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will lead India's medal quest among men in the Birmingham CWG (July 28 to August 8) and Asian Games (September 10-25 ) in Hangzhou, China. Apart from the squads for the three major tournaments which are to be held this year, the BAI also finalised names of 40 players (20 men and 20 women) for the senior national coaching camp and core group for the 2024 Olympic Games, based on players' positions in trials. For the Commonwealth Games, the men's team consists of Sen, Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty and B Sumeeth Reddy while Sindhu will lead the women's squad which has Aakarshi Kashyap, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri P and Ashwini Ponappa. Sumeet Reddy and Ponappa made the cut in the men's and women's squads respectively for the Commonwealth Games after their top-place finish in the mixed doubles category. Hooda, the teenage sensation from Rohtak, caught the selectors' eyes as she secured a place for the Asian Games as well as Uber Cup by finishing third in the women's singles after Kashyap and Ashmita