Badminton Asia Team C'ships: India men lose 2-3 to Japan but reach quarterfinals - Highlights
Catch all the highlights from day 3 of the Badminton Asia Team Championships in China.
Indian Men's team takes on Japn at the Badminton Asia Team C'ships. (Photo Credits: BAI Media)
India's women's team took on Thailand in a rematch of last edition's gold medal match in the final group game of Badminton Asia Team C'ships in Qingdao, China, on Thursday.
After a comfortable 5-0 win in the opening game against Myanmar, the young Indian squad could not continue the winning momentum against a much stronger Thai team, losing 2-3.
Later in the day, the Indian men's team also faced a similar 2-3 defeat in their final group game against Japan, despite winning the first two matches of the tie.
As it happened:
A tough day for India as both the men's and women's team faces defeats, but still they have reached the quarterfinals and will hope for a better result there.
India faced yet another 2-3 loss despite winning the first two matches as Tharun Manepalli faced a three-game defeat to Koki Watanabe in the final match of the tie.
Tharun started the match aggresively, winning the opening game with a big margin but after he couldn't continue the momentum, and lost the next two games.
Final Score: Tharun Mannepalli (IND) 21-12, 14-21, 11-21 Koki Watanabe (JPN)
Japan equalised the tie score with a straight-game win in the second doubles match against India's Hariharan Amsakarunan and Pruthvui Krishnamurthy Roy.
The tie is now heading to the final match between Koki Watanabe of Japan and Tharun Manepalli of India to decide the winner of the match and the group C.
Final Score: Hariharan-Pruthvi 14-21, 10-21, Nishi-Kumagai (JPN)
Yushi Tanaka defeated India's HS Prannoy in the second singles match to give Japan a chance of a comeback in this tie by reducing the match score deficit to 1.
This was the second meeting between the two players, where Tanaka remained unbeaten against the veteran Prannoy with second straight win.
Final Score: HS Prannoy (IND) 16-21, 11-21 Yushi Tanaka (JPN)
Indian top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched a three-game win over Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yuga Kobayashi to double team's lead in the tie.
The duo now have a 5-2 head-to-head record against the top Japanese pair.
Final Score: Satwik-Chirag (IND) 21-18, 15-21, 21-12 Hoki-Kobayashi (JPN)
A good win for Ayush Shetty to start the tie for India, knocking down higher ranked Kenta Nishimoto in a tight three-game in this final group tie.
This was the second meeting between the two players, with the latter having won his last meeting against Ayush at the Swiss Open 2025
Final Score: Ayush Shetty (IND) 21-18, 15-21, 21-11 Kento Nishimoto (JPN)
Here is the Order of India vs Japan Tie
- MS1: Ayush Shetty (IND) Vs Kento Nishimoto (JPN)
- MD1: Satwik-Chirag (IND) Vs Hoki-Kobayashi (JPN)
- MS2: HS Prannoy (IND) Vs Yushi Tanaka (JPN)
- MD2: Pruthvi-Hariharan (IND) Vs Kumagai-Nishi (JPN)
- MS3: Tharun Mannepalli (IND) Vs Koki Watanabe (JPN)
The Indian women's team faced a close 2-3 defeat to Thailand in the final group tie, despite winning the first two matches from Tanvi Sharma and Treesa-Gayatri.
Despite the loss, the Indian team qualified for the quarterfinal but will have a lower seed, where they will have to face one of the group leaders of the other three groups.
India 2-3 Thailand
- WS1: Tanvi Sharma (IND) bt. 21-14, 17-21, 21-18 Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA)
- WD1: Treesa Jolly /Gayatri Gopichand (IND) bt. 21-14, 20-22, 21-11 Tidapron Kleebyeesun / Nattamon Laisuan (THA)
- WS2: Rakshitha Sree Ramraj (IND) lost to 19-21, 17-21 Pitchamon Opatniputh (THA)
- WD2: Shruti Mishra / Tanisha Crasto (IND) lost to 21-19, 14-21, 15-21 Hathaithip Mijad / Napapakorn Tungkasatan (THA)
- WS3: Malvika Bansod (IND) lost to 18-21, 14-21 Pornpicha Choeikeewong (THA)
Game-2: Malvika Bansod (IND) 11-15 Pornpicha Choeikeewong (THA)
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