India women clinch 4-1 win over Ukraine in Uber Cup, set up do-or-die clash against China

The young Indian women’s team registered their first win of the Thomas & Uber Cup 2026 by defeating European Championships bronze medallist Ukraine 4-1 in their second Group A clash in Horsens, Denmark, on Sunday.

The team opted to rest former world champion PV Sindhu in singles and gave an opportunity to 2026 Thailand Masters champion Devika Sihag in the third singles.

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Unnati Hooda began the proceedings for India with a 21-19, 22-20 win over Polina Buhrova before junior world championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma doubled the lead by beating Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-12, 17-21, 21-10.

Devika then put the result beyond doubt, beating Mariia Stoliarenko 23-21, 21-13.

India’s only reversal came in the first women’s doubles where Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi lost 11-21, 17-21 against Buhrova and Kantemyr before Sindhu and Tanisha Crasto completed the scoreline with a 21-18, 21-15 win over Stoliarenko and Sofiia Lavrova.

The women’s team now faces the formidable China in their last group match on Monday and will have to beat the defending champions to have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

Earlier, the Indian men’s team, former champions, kicked off their campaign with a convincing 4-1 win over Canada, while the women went down against European silver medallist Denmark 2-3 in their opening Group clash.

Despite Lakshya Sen’s loss against world championships bronze medallist Victor Lai in the opening men’s singles, India bounced back strongly as all other players won their matches in straight games to take control of the tie.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty levelled the contest with a dominant 21-10, 21-11 win in men’s doubles, before Ayush Shetty gave India the lead with a 21-13, 21-17 victory over Brian Yang.

Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun sealed the tie with a 21-7, 21-15 win, before Kidambi Srikanth wrapped up the match with a 21-17, 21-12 victory.

Result:
Women: India beat Ukraine 4-1 (Unnati Hooda bt Polina Buhrova 21-19, 22-20; Tanvi Sharma bt Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-12, 17-21, 21-10; Devika Sihag bt Mariia Stoliarenko 23-21, 21-13; Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi lost to Buhrova/Kantemyr 11-21, 17-21; Tanisha Crasto/Sindhu bt Sofiia Lavrova/Stoliarenko 21-18, 21-15)