Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu squandered a strong position as India went down 0-5 to China to end their campaign at the Uber Cup Finals, while the men’s team stormed into the last-eight of the Thomas Cup with a 5-0 sweep of Australia at Horsens, Denmark on Monday.
Sindhu looked on course for a big win but couldn’t hold on to her lead in the final game. She was ahead 18-12 before losing 16-21, 21-19, 19-21 to world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi in the opening singles, putting India 0-1 behind against China in a must-win Group A match.
That defeat put India under pressure right away and China got the momentum to carry forward. In the doubles match, the top-ranked Chinese pair of Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning beat India’s Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra in straight games.
India’s exit was confirmed when Isharani Baruah lost to Chen Yu Fei in the next singles match, giving China an unbeatable 3-0 lead. The remaining matches were then just formalities.
Tanisha Crasto and Kavipriya Selvam fought hard in their doubles match against Zhang Shuxian and Luo Xumin but eventually lost 21-10, 12-21, 19-21. Devika Sihag also showed fight but went down 21-19, 17-21, 10-21 to Xu Wenjing.
In the Uber Cup, India had earlier lost 2-3 to hosts Denmark but bounced back with a 4-1 win over Ukraine.
On the brighter side, India’s men’s team, the 2022 champions, reached the Thomas Cup quarterfinals with a dominant 5-0 win over Australia in their Group A tie.
India and China are currently the top teams in the group. India began with a 4-1 win over Canada, while China defeated Australia 5-0 and Canada 4-1. The two teams will now face each other on Wednesday to decide who finishes on top.
Lakshya Sen got India off to a strong start with a 21-14, 21-16 win over Ephraim Stephen Sam. Ayush Shetty then doubled the lead with a commanding 21-8, 21-6 victory over Shrey Dhand.
The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sealed the tie with a 21-14, 21-16 win over Rizky Hidayat and Jack Yu, making it 3-0.
HS Prannoy extended the lead with a comfortable 21-11, 21-17 win over Rishi Honda Boopathy, finishing the match in under 30 minutes.
In the final doubles match, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun completed a perfect performance for India, winning 21-12, 21-10 and ensuring a clean sweep without losing a single match.
