Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships: India beats UAE 5-0 to qualify for QF

The win ensured India a top-two finish in Group B and a place in the quarter-finals. To seal the top spot in the group and avoid Group A winners, India must defeat the mixed team champions of the Commonwealth Games Malaysia on Thursday.

Dubai: Team India defeated UAE 5-0 as Lakshya Sen, Aakarshi Kashyap and India’s three doubles teams proved too strong for the hosts in the second tie of Group B at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023 in Dubai on Wednesday.

The win ensured India a top-two finish in Group B and a place in the quarter-finals. To seal the top spot in the group and avoid Group A winners, India must defeat the mixed team champions of the Commonwealth Games Malaysia on Thursday.

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Playing on the badminton courts at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, Commonwealth Games men’s singles champion Lakshya Sen set the tone for India with a 21-16, 21-12 victory over Dev Vishnu in the opening match.

With two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu rested for the tie, Aakarshi Kashyap took on the mantle in women’s singles and defeated Madhumitha Sundarapandian 21-6, 21-7 to extend India’s lead.

When Dev Ayyappan and Dhiren Ayyappan were defeated 21-15, 21-14 by the impromptu Indian men’s doubles team of Chirag Shetty and Dhruv Kapila, India had an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Then, in just 22 minutes, Ashwini Bhat K. and Shikha Gautam of the women’s doubles team easily defeated Sanika Dhawan Gurav and Akansha Raj 21-7, 21-4.

There was no loss of intensity in the final match of the tie for India as the mixed doubles duo of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto sealed the 5-0 win for India with a 21-13, 21-8 victory over Bharath Latheesh and Nayonika Rajesh in 26 minutes.

India are expected to field a full-strength side against Malaysia on Thursday. The last time the two teams met, India were handed a 3-1 defeat in the Commonwealth Games 2022 mixed-team final in Birmingham.