Indian eves thump France to march into quarterfinals

Spearheaded by Dipika Pallikal, hosts, who had beaten Germany 3-0 last evening in their opening Pool B fixture, had a few anxious moments against France before coming through.

Dipika won the opening match against Emilie Lamilango  12-10, 11-6, 11-7. However, in the crucial second singles, Anaka Alankamony, who replaced Anwesha Reddy, had to fight it out to beat Julia Lecoq. Anaka lost the opening two games Lecoq before bouncing back to take the next three to give Indians 2-0 advantage. Anaka won 7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. Later, Surbhi Mishra provided the winning 3-0 lead for the hosts when she overcame Cyrielle Peltier 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4.

India take on England wednesday in their concluding league fixture to decide the pool winners. 

England, who beat France Monday, defeated Germany for their second win and book their quarterfinal berth.

The results: POOL A: New Zealand bt Sweden 3-0 (Lana Harrison bt Matilda Ravn-Holm 11-4, 11-2, 11-0, Emma Millar bt Eira Mooney 11-2, 11-3, 11-9, Amanda Landers Murphy bt Jennie Lindstrom  11-7, 11-4, 11-9).

Egypt bt Australia 3-0 (Heba El Torky bt Sarah Cardwell 11-7, 11-6, 11-8; Nouran El Torky bt Rheanne Niebling 11-3, 11-5, 11-7, Nour El Tayeb bt Tamika Saxby 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9).

POOL B: England bt Germany 3-0 (Millie Tomlinson bt Lisa Marie Sedlmeier 11-9, 11-0, 11-9, Julianne Courtice bt Stefanie Rosner 11-6, 11-4, 11-7, Kimberley Hay bt Caroline Sayegh 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 11-3).

India bt France 3-0 (Dipika Pallikal bt Emilie Lamilango 12-10, 11-6, 11-7, Anaka Alankamony bt Julia Lecoq 7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, Surbhi Misra bt Cyrielle Peltier 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4).

POOL C: Malaysia bt The Netherlands 3-0 (Low Wee Nee bt Milou Van der Heijden 11-3, 14-12, 7-11, 11-7, Rachael Goh bt Anne Songerden 11-1, 11-9, 11-6, Tan Yan Xin bt Ilona Lagerweg 12-10, 11-6, 11-0).

Hong Kong China bt Denmark 3-0 (Tsz Wing Tong bt Anna Sophia Jensen 11-0, 11-2, 11-6, Ka Po Ho bt Nanna Frederiksen 11-0, 11-7, 11-2, Ka Man Lee bt Millie Jensen 11-5, 11-5, 11-4).

POOL D: Canada bt South Africa 3-0 (Laura Gemmel bt Cheyna Tucker 11-3, 11-8, 11-8, Danielle Letourneau bt Elani Landman 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, Samantha Cornett bt Robyn Baptiste 11-9, 11-2, 11-5).

USA bt Spain 3-0 (Oliva Blatchford bt Ana Arosa 11-2, 11-4, 11-4, Yarden Odinak bt Maria Da Fonte 11-4, 11-4, 11-5, Julie Cerullo bt Marina Lopez 11-6, 11-6, 11-5).