PV Sindhu The only *Rio 2016 medallist in action for India at Tokyo, also happens to be now the reigning world champion. PV Sindhu is a big tournament player and in the absence of the reigning champion Carolina Marin, the 2016 silver medallist starts as an automatic favourite. But the women’s singles field in badminton is so full of talent, so full of big-match players... and it would take a brave person to bet on what the podium would look like. That said, Sindhu will feature in that discussion for sure even if she starts only as the sixth seed. Vinesh Phogat & Bajrang Punia