Defending champions India defeated England 5-0 in a Group C encounter in Chengdu and cruised to the quarterfinal spot of the Thomas Cup without any trouble on April 29. HS Prannoy got back to winning ways as he thrashed England’s Harry Huang and scored 21-15 in both sets to give India a crucial 1-0 lead. Earlier, he lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in India's first tie against Thailand.
“To give a start to the team is really important, it gives a good boost to the team to go ahead. It is really important to finish off the matches clinically, you saw against Thailand one match was bad for us. So it’s important to finish off the matches clinically,” Prannoy said in the post-match presentation.
Satwik-Chirag beats England's duo
In the second match, the doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced the toughest match of this tie against England’s Bane Lane and Sean Vendy. However, the Indian duo won three games 21-17, 19-21, 21-15 against England’s pair. In the second game, world no. 19 Lane and Vendy maintained a two-point lead over the Satwik-Chirag and claimed the game 19-21. However, in the third game, the Indian duo jacked up their game to earn a quick lead.
Kidambi Srikanth thrashes Nadeem Dalvi
In the third match, Kidambi Srikanth stepped up to register his second consecutive straight-game win after defeating Nadeem Dalvi (21-16, 21-11) at the ongoing Thomas Cup. Last week, Srikant rattled Saran Jamsri 21-9, 21-5.
“Happy with the way both the matches have gone for me (in the tournament). There is a lot of pressure on players to win games. I feel I have played little easier opponents so far. But from now we will face better opponents and I have to be my best,” Srikanth said.
MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila crush Rory Easton and Alex Green
Apart from this, the second doubles team of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila earned the fourth point by beating Rory Easton and Alex Green with scores of 21-17 and 21-19 to extend India’s lead to 4-0.
Kiran George rattles Cholan Kayan
Kiran George won another straight game as he thrashed Cholan Kayan 21-18, 21-12 and made it 5-0. The win confirmed India’s spot in the quarterfinals along with setting up a highly anticipated clash against Indonesia, which will be played on May 1. India beat Indonesia 3-0 to win their maiden Thomas Cup title. Both teams had already qualified for the knockouts.
In the women’s category, a young Indian women’s squad crushed Singapore to qualify for the knockouts in the Uber Cup on April 27.
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