CWG 2018 | Indian shuttlers thrash Sri Lanka 5-0 in Team opener
The Indian shuttlers put up a show in Gold Coast as they blanked Sri Lanka 5-0 in the Team event of their opening tie in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. After a shaky start that saw Ruthvika Gadde and Pranaav Chopra drop a game, the rest of the team took just two games each to secure the win.
After taking the first game 21-15, it looked like the Indian duo of Gadde and Chopra were well on their way to an easy win against Sachin Dias and Thilini Pramodika Henahewa.
Kidambi Srikanth took the court next and staying true to his nature, he got off to a slow start yet again. But once he got into his groove, there was no way the Sri Lankan was going to put up a challenge. After he claimed the first game 21-16, Srikanth came into his own in the second with his trademark smashes becoming a regularity and Niluka Karunaratne having no answer to any of the questions that were being asked
Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were the next
But that wasn’t the most convincing win of the tie. Saina Nehwal ensured that she got that done. Saina took just 12 minutes to take the first game as she didn’t allow Madushika Beruwelage to cross the 10 point barrier. The second game was even more dominant and quicker as Saina restricted her opponent, who looked exhausted and defeated by now, to just 3 points and in 10 minutes put India 4-0 up in the event.
With the tie becoming more and more of a formality, Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy came in next to face Thilini Pramodika Hendahewa and Kavidi Sirimannage in the women’s doubles category. However, neither the outcome nor the manner of it panned out any differently, as the Indian duo claimed the first game 21-12 in 14 minutes and the second and final game 21-14, which took a minute longer.Â
