Bangkok: The Indian men’s badminton team notched their second successive win with a 5-0 thrashing of Canada in a group tie. The victory helped the men’s team qualify for the knockout round of the Thomas Cup here Monday. With their second impressive result, the Indian team, who defeated Germany 5-0 Sunday, is certain to finish in the top-2 in Group C and thus qualify for the knockout round.
World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth fought back from a game down to beat Brian Yang 20-22, 21-11, 21-15 in a match that lasted 52 minutes. The win helped India take a 1-0 lead.
The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then needed just 29 minutes to beat Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Kevin Lee. Then World No. 23 H S Prannoy easily won his singles match against BR Sankeerth 21-15, 21-12 to make it 3-0 and clinch the tie for India.
The second doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala was also too good for the duo of Dong Adam and Nyl Yakura in the match that the Indians won 21-15 21-11 in 34 minutes.
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The rout was completed when Priyanshu Rajawat beat Victor Lal in three games, 21-13 20-22 21-14 in the third men’s singles match which lasted 52 minutes.
The Indian men’s team are searching for their maiden medal at the tournament. No Indian men’s team have ever reached the semifinals of the Thomas Cup.
The team will play its final group C match Wednesday against Chinese Taipei.
The Indian women’s team had also begun their Uber Cup campaign on a resounding note Sunday with a 4-1 win against Canada. They will face USA Tuesday and Korea Wednesday.
