Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships | Team India sink Malaysia 4-1, to face Hong Kong on Friday
The Indian badminton team is on a roll as they beat the CWG champions Malaysia in their final Group B tie at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023 in Dubai on Thursday. India has topped their group now with three wins out of three and will face Hong Kong in the next round.
Starting the tie, HS Prannoy beat world no.4 and reigning Asian champion Lee Zii Jia 18-21, 21-13, 25-23 to give India an early advantage. Then it was PV Sindhu who increased India's lead and won over Wong Ling Ching 21-13, 21-17. In the absence of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and MR Arjun, the makeshift pair of Dhruv Kapila and Chirag Shetty upset Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi to win the tie for India.
In the women’s doubles, the world No. 19 pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, beat the world No. 5 Malaysian pair 23-21, 21-15 this time. In the end, the mixed doubles pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto registered a solid win over Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, 21-19, 19-21, 21-16.
Meanwhile, this is the second time that the Indian team has progressed to the quarters of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships. They were knocked out in the group stages in 2019 while they were beaten 3-2 by Thailand in the quarters of the inaugural edition held in 2017.