Defending champion India to take on Thailand in the Thomas Cup Opener
India have sent an 18-member contingent - 10 men and eight women - for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals which will be held between April 27 and May 5.
Third seed HS Prannoy kept Indian hopes alive as he defeated world No. 95 Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-9, 21-17 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Taipei Open singles event on Thursday.
On a day when most of the Indians in the fray fell by the way side, Prannoy, ninth in the world badminton rankings, overpowered Sugiarto in straight games, in the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 300 tournament.
Meanwhile it was the end of the campaign for the Parupalli Kashyap as the 36-year-old Indian lost 21-16, 21-17 to Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16.
India’s challenge in the women’s singles event also ended after world No. 57 Tanya Hemanth lost 21-11, 21-6 to world No. 4 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals.
Mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy also lost 21-13, 21-18 against Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Lin Xiao Min of Chinese Taipei in the second round.
Earlier playing at the Tian-Mu Arena, Prannoy started strong and raced to a 15-5 lead in the opening game. He kept firm control of the contest and won the first game with ease.
The second game saw Prannoy trail Sugiarto 10-3 early on. However, the Indian bounced back to draw level. With the scores tied at 15-all, Prannoy upped his game and beat his rival in 36 minutes. The 30-year-old Indian will play Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus for a place in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Parupalli Kashyap and Su Li Yang went toe-to-toe early on but the home favourite claimed seven consecutive points to lead 14-8 and then dominated to win the opening game.
The second game, too, was a closely-fought affair early on. However, as the game progressed, Kashyap failed to match Su Li Yang’s intensity and lost the 42-minute-long affair.
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