Sports News | India Lose to Japan 0-3 in Quarterfinals of Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. HS Prannoy fought valiantly, but India went down 0-3 to a second-string Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships to end their campaign on a disappointing note here on Friday.
Qingdao (China), Feb 14 (PTI) HS Prannoy fought valiantly, but India went down 0-3 to a second-string Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships to end their campaign on a disappointing note here on Friday.
India, the 2023 bronze medalists in Dubai, struggled to find their rhythm, suffering a comprehensive defeat against the 2017 edition champions Japan.
In the opening match, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto showed resilience but ultimately lost 13-21, 21-17, 13-21 to Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito.
With PV Sindhu sidelined due to a hamstring injury, India faced an uphill task against Tomoka Miyazaki, who has quickly risen to world number 8 following her triumph at the 2022 World Junior Championships.
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Malvika Bansod, stepping in for Sindhu, put up a brave fight, especially in the second game, but struggled to match the control and consistency of her younger opponent, eventually going down 12-21, 19-21, leaving India 0-2 behind.
It all came down to Prannoy to keep India alive, but despite a determined effort, the 32-year-old, returning after a long break and struggling with early-season form, couldn't sustain the pressure against world number 16 Kenta Nishimoto.
The Japanese star sealed the rubber with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-12 victory in 1 hour and 17 minutes.
India will be disappointed with the loss, especially as Japan did not field their full-strength team, with several top players absent.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)