Indian women drub Hong Kong

Lacklustre men bow to South Korea for their second straight defeat

Indian women showed the way after their male counterparts missed the cut to the knockouts in the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals at the Sirifort Sports Complex here on Monday.

Having drawn a tough Group C, Indian men put up a better performance on Monday but Korea, armed with two top doubles combinations, edged past 3-2. The defeat was India’s second following their opening day 1-4 loss to Malaysia and it put paid to their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals.

Indian women, clubbed in a relatively easier group, beat Hong Kong 4-1 to record their second straight victory in the tournament. Saina Nehwal needed 35 minutes to tame Yin Yip Pui 21-9, 21-10. After a one-sided fare in the opening game, Saina struggled a bit in the second as Yin mixed her ferocious smashes with supple net play. But once the World No 8 Indian got the hang, she spared no inch.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa comfortable breezed past Hoi Wah Chau and Lok Yan Poon 21-17, 21-13 while PV Sindhu quickly made it 3-0 with a 21-8, 21-10 decimation of Ying Mei Cheung.

However, India’ second doubles pair N Siki Reddy and Pradnya Gadre lost to Tsz Ka Chan and Ying Suet Tse 14-21, 11-21. PC Thulasi, in the last rubber, rallied to beat Hung Yung Chan 19-21, 21-16, 21-7. The win over Hong Kong ensured a quarterfinal place for India, who play Thailand in the final group game on Tuesday.

If Indian men were looking for a change of fortunes, Korea would not allow it. India, relying on their three singles matches, had Parupalli Kashyap and RMV Gursaidutt logging the points but their top singles player K Srikanth flattered to deceive in a tense first singles.

Up against World No 9 Wan Ho Son, Srikanth went down 21-17, 12-21, 18-21 in little over an hour. The 21-year-old attacked with flair and cleverly mixed his game to go one game up but Wan evened out things in the second with a clinical performance.

In the decider, Wan dominated from the start and Srikanth was left to do the catching up job before the Korean scripted his first win first win over the Indian in three meetings.

In the first doubles, the World No 10 pairing of Yeon Seong Yoo and Yong Dae Lee stamped their authority on India’s B Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri to win 21-18, 21-17 but Parupalli Kashyap kept India in the hunt. 

The Indian captain put behind his below par performance of Sunday to comfortably beat Lee Dong Keun 21-17, 21-14. Trailing 1-2, India needed its second doubles combination of Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Jerry Chopra to deliver.

Against World No 4 Sa Rang Kim and Ki Jung Kim, the Indian pair did their best before surrendering 16-21, 16-21.

RMV Gurusaidutt put up another gritty performance in the third singles to win 24-22, 21-13 against Hwang Jong Soo but it was too little and too late.
Thomas Cup: Group A: Thailand bt Nigeria 5-0; Indonesia bt Singapore 5-0.Group C: Korea bt India 3-2 (Wan Ho Son bt  K Srikanth 17-21, 21-12, 21-18; Yeon Seong Yoo/ Yong Dae Lee bt B Sumeeth Reddy/ Manu Attri 21-18, 21-17; Lee Dong Keun lt to Parupalli Kashyap 21-17, 21-14, Sa Rang Kim/ Ki Jung Kim bt Akshay Dewalkar/ Pranaav Jerry Chopra 21-16, 21-16; Hwang Jong Soo lt to RMV Gurusaidutt 22-24, 13-21); Malaysia bt Germany 4-1.

Group D: China bt Russia 5-0.

Uber Cup: Group W: China bt England 5-0; Chinese Taipei bt Russia 4-1.Group Y: India bt Hong Kong 4-1 (Saina Nehwal bt Yin Yip Pui 21-9, 21-10; Jwala Gutta/ Ashwini Ponnappa bt Hoi Wah Chau/ Lok Yan Poon 21-17, 21-13; PV Sindhu bt Ying Mei CHeung 21-8, 21-10; N Siki Reddy bt Pradnya Gadre lt to Tsz Ka Chan/ Ying Suet Tse 21-14, 21-11; PC Thulasi bt Hung Yung Chan 19-21, 21-16, 21-7); Thailand bt Canada 5-0. Group Z: Japan bt Germany 5-0; Denmark bt Malaysia 3-2.