PV Sindhu leads Indian women’s team to maiden medal at Badminton Asia Team Championships while men's team bows out

Indian women’s team was assured of a historic medal at the Badminton Asia Team Championships after it defeated Hong Kong 3-0 in the quarter-finals on Friday at Shah Alam in Malaysia. Indian women’s badminton team had stunned China in the group stage to reach the quarter-finals and in the last eight contest, PV Sindhu, Ashmita Chaliha and doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto earned victories to guide the Indian women’s team to its maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships medal. Sindhu, who is back to playing badminton after a four-month injury layoff, secured a hard-fought 21-7, 16-21, 21-12 win over lower-ranked Lo Sin Yan Happy. This was followed by a victory for the doubles pair Ponappa and Crato. They defeated world no. 18 duo of Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam 21-10, 21-14 in 35 minutes. Ashmita Chaliha then thrashed Yeung Sum Yee 21-12, 21-13 to assure India at least of a bronze.

So close yet so far!

Well played boys, proud of you 🙌#BATC2024#TeamIndia#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/pkdoQZpG7a

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) February 16, 2024

“It is a comfortable result for the women’s team. I am very happy with their performance,” said former national coach Vimal Kumar, who is accompanying the team in Hong Kong. “There was a little drift, so it was initially difficult to control the shuttle as it was going out. Sindhu was stretched a bit as it was tough from one end due to the drift but it is a good result, we are in the semifinals.” India will now face top seed Japan, who beat China 3-2 in another quarterfinal. Meanwhile, the Indian men produced a gallant effort but a nervous Kidambi Srikanth imploded in the end, blowing away a 19-12 lead in the third game of the deciding fifth match as they fell short against a second-string Japan in a tightly-contested quarterfinal. India had won two bronze medals in men’s team event in the 2016 and 2020 editions.

So close yet so far!

Well played boys, proud of you 🙌#BATC2024#TeamIndia#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/pkdoQZpG7a

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) February 16, 2024

Known for his never-say-die attitude, HS Prannoy produced yet another spirited fight back as he recovered from 9-19 down in the second game after losing the opener. He even held game points twice but it was not to be as Kento Nishimoto managed to upstage the Indian. After a 64-minute battle, it was world no. 12 Nishimoto, who walked away with a 21-16, 26-24 win to give Japan a 1-0 lead in the five-match rubber. World no. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then dished out a splendid show to outwit world no. 30 Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura 21-15, 21-17 in 40 minutes to bring India back into the contest. Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen then outlasted Koko Watanabe, ranked 20th, 21-19, 22-20 and broke into a short jig as the win gave India a 2-1 lead. MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, world no. 44, however, couldn’t seal the match, going down 17-21, 15-21 to scratch pair of Akira Koga and Kazuki Shibata as Japan clawed back. With the tie evenly poised at 2-2, Srikanth was entrusted with the job of taming his nemesis Kento Momota, a two-time former world champion who has beaten the Indian 13 times in 16 meetings. The odds were against Srikanth as he had defeated Momota only thrice with the last win coming in 2015. The Indian put up a determined effort only to blow it away in the end. Srikanth was 16-11 up after a tooth and nail battle and closed out the opening game with his trademark jump smash. The Indian used his forehand cross smashes to trouble the Japanese. After the change of ends, Momota got his act together and dictated the terms in the rallies to roar back into the contest. In the deciding game, Srikanth recovered from a 0-3 deficit to zoom to a 19-12 lead but then tragedy struck as he made too many mistakes at the net, allowing the Japanese to reel off eight straight points to grab a match point. Srikanth saved one with a forehand cross but he sprayed the next one to the net to again hand over the advantage to the Japanese, who sealed it when the Indian went wide again. With PTI inputs