India kicked off their Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships campaign in style by thrashing Sri Lanka 110-69 in their Group D clash in Solo, Indonesia, on Friday.
The mixed doubles combination of Vishnu Kode and Reshika U began India’s march with an 11-5 win over Keneth Aruggoda and Isuri Attanayake in the relay point system, where a team had to bag 110 points to win the match.
Sisters Gayatri and Mansa Rawat then extended India’s lead to 22-14 against Attanayake and Sithumi De Silva before junior world no. 1 Tanvi Sharma stamped her class against Sithuli Ranasinghe to make it 33-21 for India.
Not one Indian singles player or pair lost any 11-point relay, and by the time the match reached the halfway mark, the winners had taken a 55-31 lead.
India will now face the United Arab Emirates in their second group game on Saturday before taking on Hong Kong China on Sunday, a match that could decide who tops the group standings.