Shah Alam (Malaysia): After Indian women registered a thrilling victory over China in a close encounter, the Indian men's team thrashed Hong Kong in their opening game by 4-1 to advance to the next stage of the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 here on Wednesday.
The Indian contingent once again sent out their leader, HS Prannoy, world rank No.7, for the first encounter, but he looked rusty and failed to display his best show against his Hong Kong rival Ng Ka Long Angus, who secured an easy victory in two straight sets of 21-18, 21-14 to give an upper hand to his side with the first point.
The 31-year-old’s defeat though would prove to be the only hiccup for the Indian side as the opponent faced a dominant showing from the Men's team. India went on to sweep the rest of the opposition away in four matches in a row to clinch the tie 4-1 for India.
The unstoppable Satwik Sairaj and Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty duo, who have recently received Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, outclassed the opposition pair of Lui Chun Wai and Yeung Shing Choi and dismissed the Hong Kong duo in two straight sets by 21-16, 21-11.
Lakshya Sen, who was up next, followed suit and bagged a comprehensive win over Chan Yin Chak with ease in two sets by 21-14, 21-9 to make way for the next match-up, providing India an edge in the tie.
After trailing in the tie by 1-2 after three matches, Hong Kong’s hopes rested on the pair of Chow Hin Long and Hung Kuei Chun to keep themselves alive. But M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila had different plans and dismantled their rivals by 21-12, 21-7 to seal the deal for India as they took an unassailable 3-1 lead.
India’s Kidambi Srikanth added the cherry on the cake by thrashing Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan 21-14 21-18 to end the tie on a high note for the Indians.
The Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 will offer valuable Race to Paris 2024 ranking points, which will be crucial for Badminton players looking to compete at the upcoming Olympic Games. This edition of the biennial continental team championship will play as the qualification tournament for the Asian qualifiers for the Thomas and Uber Cup to be held in Chengdu, China in April-May later this year. India are the current holder of the Thomas Cup.
India will next square off against China on Thursday at 10.30 AM IST.
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