Thomas & Uber Cup badminton: India women ousted in quarter-finals
India lost 3-0 to Japan in the last eight to be knocked out of the Uber Cup. The men’s team lost to China in their final group match of the Thomas Cup.
The Indian women’s badminton team were knocked out of the Uber Cup after losing 3-0 to defending champion Japan at the Ceres Arena in Aarhus, Denmark on Thursday.
In the first match of the tie, youngster Malvika Bansod lost 21-12, 21-17 to world No. 5 Akane Yamaguchi.
The pair of Tanisha Crasto/Rutaparna Panda then suffered their only loss of the tournament, falling 21-8, 21-10 to Yuki Fukushima/Mayu Matsumoto, both former top-ranked doubles players.
The 18-year-old Aditi Bhatt then lost the third match 21-16, 21-7 to world No. 15 Sayaka Takahashi.
It was an encouraging performance from a young Indian team, especially after Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal was injured in the first group match and took no further part in the Uber Cup.
India had been knocked out in the group stages of the 2018 Uber Cup, which was the last time the women’s tournament was held.
India to face Denmark in Thomas Cup quarters
The Indian men’s team finished second in Group C of the Thomas Cup after losing 4-1 to China in their final group tie.
In the first match of the group tie, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth lost 21-12, 21-16 to Shi Yu Qui.
The pair of Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won India’s only match of the tie, beating He Ji Ting/Zhou Hao Dong 21-14, 21-14.
In the third match, India’s Sameer Verma won the first game but fell 21-14, 9-21, 22-24 to Lu Guang Zu.
India then conceded the tie as the pair of MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila lost 16-24, 21-19 to Liu Cheng/Wang Yi Lyu.
Youngster Kiran George then lost the final match of the tie 21-15, 21-17 to Li Shi Feng.
India had already qualified for the quarter-finals after winning both their previous ties against the Netherlands and Tahiti. They were drawn against Denmark in the last eight on Friday.