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Eight Indian shuttles in top 100

For the first time in the history of Indian badminton, eight shuttlers - four men and four women - figure in the top 100 of the International Badminton Federation's world rankings.

National champion Pulela Gopichand is ranked 44, followed by Abhinn Shyam Gupta (61), Nikhil Kanetkar (70) and Sachin Ratti (100) in the men's category.

In the women's section, India No. 1 Aparna Popat slipped down the rankings to No. 21, but three others broke into the elite group. They are Neelima Choudary (70), former national champion Manjusha Kanwar (86) and junior champion B R Meenakshi (96).

According to a statement from the Badminton Association of India, Shyam Gupta, Kanetkar and Ratti were able to break into the top 100 because of their consistency at recent international tournaments.

The statement said the achievement was possible because the Union Sports Ministry's had put badminton on the priority list. "This enabled deserving Indian players to participate in a number of international tournaments over the last year."

Consumer goods giant BPL also played a very big role by sponsoring the Indian team.

"The performance of these players in the international tournaments over the past 12 months, coupled with active support received from the government, BPL and Air India, has enabled them to garner sufficient points to be in the elite world top 100 list," the release added.

UNI