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IMAGE: India blanked Hong Kong using on wins from double Olympic-medallist P V Sindhu, Ashmita Chaliha and the doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto. {Photograph}: Badminton Affiliation of India/X
Indian girls shuttlers assured themselves of a historic first-ever Badminton Asia Staff Championships medal by cruising to a 3-0 win over Hong Kong however their male counterparts failed to duplicate the feat, happening narrowly 2-3 to Japan within the quarterfinals in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Friday.
After beautiful high seeds China to high the group stage, the India girls blanked Hong Kong using on wins from double Olympic-medallist PV Sindhu, Ashmita Chaliha and the doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto.
The Indian girls shuttlers will now face high seed Japan, who beat China 3-2 in one other quarterfinal.
The Indian males produced a gallant effort however a nervous Kidambi Srikanth imploded in the long run, blowing away a 19-12 lead within the third sport of the deciding fifth match as they fell quick in opposition to a second-string Japan in a tightly-contested quarterfinal.
India had gained two bronze medals in males’s workforce occasion within the 2016 and 2020 editions.
Getting back from an extended harm layoff, Sindhu registered a hard-fought 21-7, 16-21, 21-12 win over a lower-ranked Lo Sin Yan Completely satisfied.
The ladies’s doubles mixture of Tanisha and Ponnappa then doubled the lead by getting the higher of world no. 18 mixture of Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam 21-10, 21-14 in 35 minutes.
Ashmita wrapped up the tie with a snug 21-12, 21-13 conquer Yeung Sum Yee, assuring the workforce of at the very least a bronze.
“It’s a snug outcome for the ladies’s workforce. I’m very proud of their efficiency,” former nationwide coach Vimal Kumar, who’s with the workforce, instructed PTI from Shah Alam.
“There was somewhat drift, so it was initially troublesome to regulate the shuttle because it was going out. Sindhu was stretched a bit because it was robust from one finish because of the drift however it’s a good outcome, we’re within the semifinals.”
For the Indian males, it turned out to be a pulsating contest despite the fact that Japan, the 2016 finalists, have been with out their high gamers — world no. 6 Kodai Naroka and 2021 world champion doubles pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi.
Recognized for his never-say-die angle, HS Prannoy produced one more spirited battle again as he recovered from 9-19 down within the second sport after dropping the opener. He even held sport factors twice but it surely was to not be as Kento Nishimoto managed to upstage the Indian.
After a 64-minute battle, it was world no. 12 Nishimoto, who walked away with a 21-16, 26-24 win to offer Japan a 1-0 lead within the five-match rubber.
World no. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then dished out a splendid present to outwit world no. 30 Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura 21-15, 21-17 in 40 minutes to carry India again into the competition.
Commonwealth Video games champion Lakshya Sen then outlasted Koko Watanabe, ranked twentieth, 21-19, 22-20 and broke into a brief jig because the win gave India a 2-1 lead.
MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, world no. 44, nevertheless, could not seal the match, happening 17-21, 15-21 to scratch pair of Akira Koga and Kazuki Shibata as Japan clawed again.
With the tie evenly poised at 2-2, Srikanth was entrusted with the job of taming his nemesis Kento Momota, a two-time former world champion who has overwhelmed the Indian 13 instances in 16 conferences.
The chances have been in opposition to Srikanth as he had defeated Momota solely thrice with the final win coming in 2015. The Indian put up a decided effort solely to blow it away in the long run.
Srikanth was 16-11 up after a tooth and nail battle and closed out the opening sport together with his trademark bounce smash. The Indian used his forehand cross smashes to bother the Japanese.
After the change of ends, Momota received his act collectively and dictated the phrases within the rallies to roar again into the competition.
Within the deciding sport, Srikanth recovered from a 0-3 deficit to zoom to a 19-12 lead however then tragedy struck as he made too many errors on the web, permitting the Japanese to reel off eight straight factors to seize a match level.
Srikanth saved one with a forehand cross however he sprayed the following one to the web to once more hand over the benefit to the Japanese, who sealed it when the Indian went broad once more.
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