Indian women's team stun China to enter the quarterfinals, men's team also reach the quarterfinals at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024
The men’s and women’s Indian teams had a dream start to their campaign at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024.
The women’s team created an upset, stunning top-seed China 3-2. Anmol Kharb, 17, was the star of the tie after the young shuttler took to the court with the scores of the tie level at 2-2. She edged past China’s Wu Luo Yu in a thrilling three-set battle and secured the match and tie for the Indian team. The win ensured that the Indian contingent enter the quarterfinals as table toppers of their group.
Meanwhile, India’s men’s team dominated proceedings after securing a 4-1 victory over Hong Kong, China. They too booked their place in the knockout stages
A closer look at the ties of India’s men’s and women’s teams at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024
India’s women’s team was up against China in their first and only group-stage match. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, who was out of action since October last year due to a knee injury, played the first match of the tie for India.
The 28-year-old shuttler used all her experience and played some spectacular strokes to get the better of higher-ranked World No. 8 Han Yue in straight games. The Indian took 40 minutes to dispatch the Chinese shuttler with a score of 21-17, 21-15 to give India the lead.
India’s highest-ranked women’s doubles pair Tanisha Castro and Ashwini Ponnappa represented India in the second match of the tie. The Abu Dhabi Masters winners took on China’s Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning. They went down 19-21, 16-21, to the World No. 4 shuttlers.
Ashmita Chaliha played the third match against China’s Wang Zhi Yi but was beaten comfortably with a score of 13-21, 15-21.
All England Open semifinalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand played the second doubles match for India. The young duo took on China’s Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min.
In a match that lasted an hour and nine minutes, the World No. 23 pair from India played some incredible badminton. They kept their cool in the deciding set to win the match 10-21, 21-18, 21-17. It leveled the tie at 2-2, keeping India’s hopes alive to secure a victory.
The final match of the tie saw young and inexperienced Anmol Kharb take on much higher-ranked Wu Luo Yu from China. Yu, who sits more than 300 places higher than Kharb in the world rankings, witnessed the Indian youngster play like a player much above her years.
Kharb’s strokes in the match showed maturity, and the young shuttler kept her composure in the deciding game to seal the match and tie for her side. The final score of Kharb’s one-hour and 18-minute-long match was 22-20, 14-21, 21-18. India won the tie 3-2, topping the group and making it to the quarterfinals.
On the other hand, India’s men’s team has dominated team events in the last few years. The Thomas Cup winners from 2022 took on Hong Kong China in their opening tie. HS Prannoy led the charge for India, playing the first match. However, the World No. 7 lost against Ng Ka Long Angus in straight games. Long now leads the head-to-head battle 7-6.
With the score of the tie 0-1 in favor of Hong Kong, India’s World No. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty took to court. They got the better of their counterparts, beating Lui Chun Wei and Yeung Shing Choi 21-16, 21-11 in 33 minutes.
With the scores level at 1-1, Lakshya Sen, who has been having trouble finding his form in recent times, went on to play some brilliant strokes. He made minimal unforced errors to dispatch Chan Yin Chak with a score of 21-14, 21-9, giving India the lead in the tie.
India’s doubles pair of M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila continued India’s momentum in the fourth match of the tie. The pair took a mere 27 minutes to beat Chow Him Long and Hung Kuei Chun of Hong Kong with a scoreline of 21-12, 21-7.
With the tie sealed and the quarterfinal berth booked, there was little pressure on India’s ace shuttler, Kidambi Srikanth. The former World No. 1 beat Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan 21-14, 21-18, giving India a 4-1 win.
The Indian men’s team will take on China in their second group-stage match to decide which country will top the group. Both teams have already qualified for the quarterfinals.