Sudirman Cup: Out of quarter-final race, India beat Finland in final group match

Vantaa (Finland): Already out of quarter-final race, India beat Finland 4-1 in their inconsequential final group match of the Sudirman Cup badminton tournament on Wednesday. The mixed doubles pair of M R Arjun and Ashwini Ponnappa beat the Finnish duo of Anton Kaisti and Jenny Nystrom 21-9 21-14 before Kidambi Srikanth and Malvika Bansod got the better of their respective opponents in the men’s and women’s singles. Srikanth beat Kalle Koljonen 16-21 21-14 21-11, while Malvika won 21-16 21-11 against Nella Nyqvist. The men’s doubles pair of Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, however, lost to Kaisti and Jesper Paul 20-22 19-22 before Tanisha Crasto and Rutaparna Panda beat Mathilda Lindholm and Jenny Nystrom 21-12 21-13 in the women’s doubles. Competing without their star players, the Indians had ended their chances to qualify for the knockout stage after suffering a heavy 0-5 defeat against formidable China on Monday. The Indians had earlier lost their Group A opener against Thailand. The absence of double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu, London Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and the men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy hurt India’s prospects as the team cut a sorry figure in the tournament.