Unified high‑performance badminton training camps held in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Guwahati played a decisive role in India’s bronze medal win at the Thomas Cup, with star shuttlers like H S Prannoy and Lakshya Sen leading the charge in the sport’s premier team event.
India reached the semi‑finals in Horsens, Denmark, by defeating Chinese Taipei before falling 0‑3 to France. The bronze adds to a maiden gold in 2022 and earlier third‑place finishes in 1952, 1955, and 1979.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports sanctioned Rs 1.67 crore for the camps weeks before the Thomas Cup, bringing together the country’s top shuttlers under a unified high‑performance setup. The three camps allowed key players such as Lakshya Sen, debutant Ayush Shetty, Kidambi Srikanth, and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to train together, fine‑tune combinations, and build match rhythm.
Held at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, Centre for Badminton Excellence, and National Centre for Excellence Badminton Academy, the camps not only prepared athletes for the Thomas and Uber Cups but also benefited a broader pool of shuttlers. Currently, 13 male and nine female players are training in Hyderabad, five male and five female in Bengaluru, and four male and one female in Guwahati, with the camp scheduled to conclude on June 30.
Led by chief national coach Pullela Gopichand, the camps integrate foreign coaches, physiotherapists, trainers, and analysts to create a competition‑ready environment. The programme also included the Uber Cup squad featuring P V Sindhu, Treesa Jolly, and Tanisha Crasto, among others.
With the Thomas and Uber Cups concluded, attention now shifts to preparing Indian shuttlers for the Asian Games in Japan, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and other major global competitions.