Exciting action awaits as China and India men’s team clash tomorrow in their last group tie to decide on the Group A winner at the Selangor Badminton Asia Team Championships being held at Setia City Convention Centre, Shah Alam.
Parading their strongest lineup led by HS Prannoy and Satchi pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, India look set to hold the edge against China’s second-stringers.
Today, India set the right tone towards realising their hopes of winning the Asia Team title for the first time with a 4-1 win against Hong Kong China, despite Prannoy’s defeat at the hands of Ng Ka Long in the first tie.
However, top pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Sheet put things back on level terms, winning over Liu Chun Wai/Yeung Shin Choi in just 33 minutes. World No.19 Lakshya Sen then widened the gap with a win over Chan Yin Chak before doubles pair M.R Arjun/Dhruv Kapila sealed India’s victory, prevailing over Chow Hin Leong/Hung Kuei Chun 21-12, 21-7 in just 27 minutes.
Kidambi Srikanth then made it 4-1 for India with a 21-14, 21-18 win over Jason Gunawan.
Reigning champions and host Malaysia remain on track in their pursuit of their second successive title with a comfortable 5-0 win over Kazakhstan.
Lee Zii Jia stepped up as the first singles, delivering the country’s first point with a straight 21-11, 21-10 win over Dmitriy Panarin in just 28 minutes.
Leong Jun Hao then followed suit with a 25-minute win over Ibray Baiken while Eogene Ewe confirmed the tie in favour of the host after overcoming Makhsut Tajibullayev 21-7, 21-9.
Malaysia meet Chinese Taipei in their last group match tomorrow to decide on the Group B winner.
In Group C, Thailand dropped a point but still emerged victorious after defeating Myanmar 4-1. The Thai squad will have to be at their best against Japan tomorrow to ensure their berth in the last eight.
Japan routed Singapore 5-0 with Kenta Nishimoto providing the opening point after defeating former world champion Loh Kean Yew in 48 minutes.
Triple champion Indonesia had no trouble disposing of UAE while Chinese Taipei will square off against Malaysia to decide on the Group B winner.
Meanwhile, in the women’s competition, Pusarla Sindhu, making her comeback to the courts after a long layoff due to injury, overcame world No.8 Han Yue to steer India with a 3-2 win to top Group W. Both teams are already assured of a place in the last eight.
However, world no. 4 pair Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning and women’s singles world No. 9 Wang Zhi Yi got the better of Tanisha Crasto/Ashwini Ponnapa 21-19, 21-16 and Thailand Masters semifinalist Ashmita Chaliha respectively to put China back on the lead.
Trailing 1-2, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela drew level for India after brushing aside world no. 22 pair Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Ming in a 69-minute encounter to force a tie. 16-year-old Anmol Kharb then rose to the occasion, outclassing Luo Yu Wu in a marathon 78-minute clash which saw the Indian national champion eventually winning 22-20, 14-21, 21-18.
In another tie, the Malaysian women’s team, steered by Goh Jin Wei and experienced pair Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan, confirmed the team’s quarterfinal berth after crushing UAE 5-0. Tomorrow’s meeting against Thailand will decide the Group Y winner.
Chinese Taipei meanwhile take on Japan to decide on the Group Z winner while Hong Kong and Indonesia clash in another exciting duel to decide on Group X winner.
The six-day BATC 2024 showcases top-notch action by Asia’s best, one of the world’s biggest tournaments under the purview of Badminton Asia to showcase Asia’s best teams and stars in a highly competitive tournament.
Apart from providing valuable qualification points in the race to the 2024 Olympics in Paris in July, BATC 2024 also offers the top four teams with automatic berths to badminton’s most prestigious tournament, the Thomas and Uber Cup finals scheduled in Chengdu in May.
RESULTS
MEN
Group A:
India bt Hong Kong 4-1
Group B:
Malaysia bt Kazakhstan 5-0
Chinese-Taipei bt Brunei 5-0
Group C:
Japan bt Singapore 5-0
Thailand bt Myanmar 4-1
Group D:
Korea bt Saudi Arabia 5-0
Indonesia bt UAE 5-0
WOMEN
Group W:
India bt China 3-2
Group X:
Hong Kong China bt Kazakhstan 5-0
Group Y:
Malaysia bt UAE 5-0
Group Z:
Chinese-Taipei bt Singapore 5-0
