Gopichand to lead India

All-England badminton champion Pulella Gopichand will lead the Indian squad in the World team championships, starting in Seville, Spain on May 28, an Indian badminton official said on Tuesday.

Gopichand, 27, who beat Olympic champion Ji Xenping of China and world number one Peter Gade of Denmark on his way to the All-England title in Birmingham this March, has not played any tournament since.

He is ranked fifth in the world.

The Indian team will remain in Seville for the World individual championships which will follow the team events.

The squads:

Men: Pullela Gopichand, Abhinn Shyam Gupta, Siddharth Jain, Chetan Anand, Jaseel Ismail, Marcose Bristow, V. Diju and Sanave Thomas.

Women: Aparna Popat, Manjusha Kanwar, Jwala Gutta, Shruti Kurien, P.V.V. Laxmi and Madhumita Bisht.