Women's team have been knocked out in quarterfinals.
Credit: BAI Media
India's title defence in the Badminton Asia Team Championships women's team event came to grinding halt after a 0-3 loss to a second-string China in the quarterfinals at Qingdao on Friday.
India had won a historic gold medal in the previous edition in 2024, but the absence of the PV Sindhu due to a niggle made the task of defending the title a tough one.
World No. 42 Tanvi Sharma, who had been leading the charge in the first singles with two wins earlier in the tournament, failed to provide a positive start, losing 9-21 9-21 to World No. 10 Gao Fang Jie in a lop-sided opener.
The doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly then put up a spirited fight before going down 22-24, 18-21 to the world No.4 combination of Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian, as China took a decisive 2-0 lead.
The Indian pair fought back from 10-16 down in the opening game to draw level but failed to convert, losing the first set. In the second game, Treesa and Gayatri held a 13-10 lead before conceding a run of points, allowing the Chinese pair to regain control and close out the match.
Facing a do-or-die situation, Rakshitha Ramraj battled hard against Xu Wen Jing in the second singles but eventually lost 14-21, 21-15, 17-21 in a 69-minute contest.
India had begun their campaign with a 5-0 sweep of Myanmar before suffering a narrow 2-3 defeat to Thailand in their final group tie on Thursday.
(with BAI media inputs)