India settled for a bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023 after losing to China 3-2 in the semi-finals at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in UAE on Saturday.
This was India’s first medal at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships. India failed to get past the group stages in 2019 and were eliminated by Thailand in the quarter-finals of the inaugural edition in 2017.
In the first match of the five-match tie, world No. 9 HS Prannoy, India’s top-ranked men’s singles player in the badminton rankings, was stunned by world No. 125 Lei Lan Xi. The Indian badminton player lost the match 21-13, 21-16.
The match began evenly but with the scores tied at 6-6, Lei Lan Xi won the next six points and proceeded to win the first game with ease. HS Prannoy improved his defence in the second game and went toe-to-toe with his Chinese opponent until the score read 12-12. Like in the opening game, Lei Lan Xi upped the ante yet again at the crucial juncture to give China a 1-0 lead.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu then lost to world No. 101 Gao Fang Jie 21-9, 16-21, 21-18 in women’s singles. It was world No. 9 PV Sindhu’s third loss against Gao Fang Jie in as many matches.
With India looking down the barrel, Chirag Shetty and Dhruv Kapila brought India back into the tie with a close 21-19, 21-19 win over the world No. 21 team of He Ji Ting and Zhou Hao Dong.
Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, who saved India from elimination in the quarter-finals against Hong Kong, then defeated Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning 21-18, 13-21, 21-19 to bring India level at 2-2.
In the decider, India's mixed doubles pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto went down against Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Yax In 21-17, 21-13 as India lost the tie by a 3-2 margin.
In the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023, India won all their matches in the group stage. They then beat last edition’s bronze medallist Hong Kong in the quarter-finals to earn a direct entry in the Sudirman Cup 2023, which will be held in China later this year.