Indian women upset China; Men beat Hong Kong to reach quarter-finals

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Shah Alam (Malaysia). The Indian women’s badminton team defeated mighty Chinese players to reach the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships here on Wednesday, while the men defeated Hong Kong to reach the quarterfinals.

The women, led by two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, defeated China for the first time in the team event, with teenage debutant Anmol Kharab putting in an inspiring performance to ensure a 3-2 score line in favor of the Indians in Group W.

Later, the men’s team defeated Hong Kong 4–1 to secure a top two finish from Group A.

Sindhu returned to competitive badminton for the first time since the French Open due to injury last October.

Sindhu showed that she is not only regaining her form but also her confidence as she won the opening game against Han Yu easily and then won 11 out of the next 13 points to pull India back from 10-13 down. Gave it the lead with a win of 21-17,21-15.

However, the Chinese team quickly leveled the score at 1-1 as the doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto lost in straight games with the scores of 19-21, 16-21.

In the third match, Ashmita Chaliha lost to Zi Yi Wang in straight games with the score of 13-21, 15-21. This put China in a favorable position to ensure victory in the match.

All England semi-finalists Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand equalized by defeating world No. 22 Li Yi Jing and Luo Ju Min 10-21, 21-18, 21-17 in one hour and nine minutes.

Then all eyes were on national champion Anmol, who was playing in the competition for the first time. In a closely fought opening game, the teenager converted her second game point under pressure from Wu Luo Yu and won the first game.

The pressure seemed to be mounting on Anmol as she lost the second game and trailed 1-5 at the start of the third. However, she stuck to her game plan of keeping the shuttle in play and closed out the match 22-20, 14-21, 21-18.

With just two teams in Group W, India will qualify for the quarter-finals as the top team.

Reacting to the team’s victory, Badminton Association of India general secretary Sanjay Mishra said, it is a special feeling to see the team defeat China. More importantly, we showed confidence in the youth while selecting the team and I am happy that they performed well.

In the men’s team event, the Indian team defeated Hong Kong quite comfortably, overcoming HS Prannoy’s defeat in the opening men’s singles match. They will face China on Thursday to decide the group winner.

In the opening match, Prannoy had to face defeat by 18-21, 14-21 at the hands of Long Angus of NG.

Then, world No. 1 men’s pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty started the turnaround with a 21-16, 21-11 win over Lui Chun Wai and Yeung Shing Choi, before Lakshya Sen defeated Chan Yin Chak 21-14, 21-9 and another men’s pair MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila gave India an unassailable lead by defeating Chow Hin Long and Hung Kui Chun 21-12, 21-7.

Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jason Gunawan 21-14, 21-18 to win 4-1.

With the top two teams from each group reaching the quarters, this win guarantees a place in the last eight for the Indian men as Hong Kong has lost both its matches in the group stage. On Tuesday, China defeated them 5-0.

Indian men will take on China in their final Group A encounter on Thursday.

The Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 will provide valuable Race to Paris 2024 ranking points, which will be crucial for shuttlers aspiring to compete at the upcoming Olympic Games.

The 2024 edition of the biennial continental team championship will also serve as the Asian qualifier for the 2024 Thomas & Uber Cup to be held in Chengdu, China in April-May.

–IANS

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