Badminton Asia Team C'ships: Srikanth’s win in vain as India crash out

Badminton Asia Team C'ships: Srikanth’s win in vain as India crash out

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World No.9 Kidambi Srikanth won an impressive victory against World No.10 Tommy Sugiarto, but it went in vain as India lost all the other three matches to surrender the tie 1-3 to Indonesia in the semi-final of the Badminton Asia Team Championship at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.

In the opening tie of the match, World No. 9 Kidambi Srikanth took on World No. 10 Tommy Sugiarto. The start belied the one-rank difference in ranks as Srikanth took the first six straight points. Leading from start to finish, he won the first set 21-14. Sugiarto came back in the second and held the lead until 14, before Srikanth caught up with him. After trading the lead, Sugiarto got to set point first, but he would take four more set points to finally win it 25-23.

Srikanth started the decider imperiously with a stunning advance smash in the very first point to set the tone. After losing the serve at 2-0, he got it back with a stunning rally combining defence and offence before closing it out with a subtle cross-court flick. From 9-5, he rallied five straight points with some subtle net play and placements. That shut out any hopes for Sugiarto, who managed only four more points before Srikanth closed the match.

In the second game, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy lost to Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in straight sets to let Indonesia level the scores.

In the second singles, Ajay Jayaram lost to a lower-ranked Anthony Ginting again in straight sets as India slumped to a 1-2 deficit.

In a must-win match,  Pranaav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar took on Angga Pratama and Karanda Suwardi. But the duo lost the match 13-21, 21-18, 15-21 to finish off India's hopes of a place in the final. 

Brief scores:

Singles 1: Kidambi Srikanth vs Tommy Sugiarto 21-14, 23-25, 21-9

Doubles 1:  Manu Attri/ Sumeeth Reddy vs Mohammad Ahsan/ Hendra Setiawan 11-21, 10-21

Singles 2 : Ajay Jayaram vs Anthony Ginting 15-21, 20-22

Doubles 2 : Pranaav Chopra/ Akshay Dewalkar vs  Angga Pratama/ Karanda Suwardi 13-21, 21-18, 15-21

(Also Read: Badminton Asia Team C'Ships: Srikanth and Prannoy guide India to semis)

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