Shouldering extra responsibility to perfection,
PV Sindhu guided India to a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Hong Kong China in the Asia Team Badminton Championships at Alor Setar, Kedah in Malaysia on Tuesday.
Indian women, sans
Saina Nehwal, rallied splendidly to scrape past their dangerous opponents in their opening encounter, thanks mainly to all-rounder Sindhu. The tall Hyderabadi won both her matches to help India score a crucial win.
As reported by TOI, the Indian team management decided to field Sindhu in the women's doubles too. Pairing up with her best friend, Sikki Reddy, Sindhu recorded a thrilling three-game victory in the second doubles to help India level the scores 2-2.
In the fifth and deciding match, young Ruthvika Shivani Gadde notched up a come-from-behind win against Yeung Sum Yee 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 to help India clinch the Group W opener. After a day's rest, Indian women will take on formidable Japan in the second and last league match.
Later in the evening, Indian men's team blanked the Philippines 5-0 to round up a perfect day. India will face Maldives in the second league outing of Group D on Wednesday.
Indian doubles chief coach Kim Tan Her was very happy with Tuesday's results. "Both our teams gave a good performance today. I am very happy with the effort put in by all the players. Sindhu's show was outstanding. She lived up to the expectations of the team management and performed a very important role," Tan told TOI.
The Malaysian was pleased that the strategy worked out well in the women's match. "In team event, strategy and discussion are crucial factors to field the best possible combinations. We want to see players work as one unit and help each other as we are targeting the Thomas and Uber Cup," said Tan.
RESULTSWomen: India bt Hong Kong China 3-2 (PV Sindhu bt
Yip Pui Yin
21-12, 21-18; Ashwini Ponnappa-Prajakta Sawant lost to Ng Wing Yung-Yeung Nga Ting 22-20, 20-22, 10-21; Sri Krishna Priya lost to
Cheung Ying Mei
19-21, 21-18, 20-22; Sindhu-Sikki Reddy bt Ng Tsz Yau-Yeun Sin Ying 21-15, 15-21, 21-14; G Ruthvika Shivani bt Yeung Sum Yee 16-21, 21-16, 21-13).
Men: India bt the Philippines 5-0 (Kidambi Srikanth bt Ros Leonard Pedrosa 21-11, 21-12; Manu Attri-Sumeeth Reddy bt Carlos Antonie Cayanan-Philip Joper Escueta 21-15, 21-13; B Sai Praneeth bt Arthur Samuel Salvado 21-6, 21-10; MR Arjun-Shlok Ramchandran bt
Peter Gabriel
Magnaye- Alvin Morada 21-18, 21-17;
Sameer Verma bt
Lanz Raif Zafra
21-15, 21-12).
Suhas Nayse, Special correspondent, Sports, The Times of India, J...
Read MoreSuhas Nayse, Special correspondent, Sports, The Times of India, Jaipur edition.
He joined TOI Jaipur edition in February, 2023. He was also part of the TOI Nagpur edition from 2006 to 2020 as a sports reporter. He has been covering sports for more than two decades.
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