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Badminton
Sudirman Cup : China sends India packing after 5-0 victory
India crashed out of the 2019 Sudirman Cup after losing 0-5 to China in the second and final group match in China on Wednesday. The 10-time champions ran rampant and knocked Indian out of the mixed team badminton championships. The first match-up saw the mixed doubles pair Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy take on the China's Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping. The Chinese duo—ranked no.2 pair in the world—proved to be too good as they bagged the first match 21-5, 21-11 to take a 1-0 lead. Sameer Verma played the men's singles match for a second consecutive day in Kidambi Srikanth's absence. PTI reported that the former world no.1 announced his absence through a tweet before the match. "Won't be playing today due to an injury caused during practice. Will be backing the team for today's all-important match." Verma, in Srikanth's absence, could not withstand the Chen Long storm, as he went down 17-21, 20-22 to the Olympic Champion. India now trailed 0-2. 
Image : PTI India won its first set of the tie in match no.3 through Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the men's doubles match. The duo took the opening set 21-18. However, that wasn't enough for Shetty and Rankireddy, who recently returned from a shoulder injury, to stop Han Chengkai and Xhou Haodang from bagging the contest as they lost the next two sets 15-21, 17-21. This loss meant that India were now trailing 0-3 and it was the end of the road for them. In the next two matches, Saina Nehwal lost to Chen Yufei 12-21, 17-21, while while Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also lost their women's doubles match 12-21, 15-21 to Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan. This match was a do-or-die contest for the Indians after losing 2-3 to Malaysia in their opening group match yesterday. The tie started with India fielding Sameer Verma instead of Kidambi Srikanth, which took everyone by surprise. India took a 1-0 through the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who came back from behind to beat Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie 16-21, 21-17, 24-22 in a grueling battle that lasted a little over an hour. With the hopes of making doubling the advantage for India, Verma took to the court for his men's singles match. However, it wasn't to be as he lost 13-21, 15-21 to Lee Zii Jia, allowing the Malaysians to make it 1-1. The seesaw battle continued further. Ace Indian shuttler, PV Sindhu comprehensively beat Goh Jin Wei 21-12, 21-8 in 35 minutes to retain the lead for India. However, the Malaysians were quick to bounce back, as Aaron Chia and Teo Ee Yi beat the doubles of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 22-20, 21-19 to once again come back level. With the teams dead-locked at 2-2, it all came down to the final match of tie, the women's doubles match. Ponnappa—two hours after her first game—returned to the court with N Sikki Reddy. However, they failed to get India across the line after losing to Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean 11-21, 19-21. India lost the tie 2-3.
Image : PTI India won its first set of the tie in match no.3 through Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the men's doubles match. The duo took the opening set 21-18. However, that wasn't enough for Shetty and Rankireddy, who recently returned from a shoulder injury, to stop Han Chengkai and Xhou Haodang from bagging the contest as they lost the next two sets 15-21, 17-21. This loss meant that India were now trailing 0-3 and it was the end of the road for them. In the next two matches, Saina Nehwal lost to Chen Yufei 12-21, 17-21, while while Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also lost their women's doubles match 12-21, 15-21 to Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan. This match was a do-or-die contest for the Indians after losing 2-3 to Malaysia in their opening group match yesterday. The tie started with India fielding Sameer Verma instead of Kidambi Srikanth, which took everyone by surprise. India took a 1-0 through the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who came back from behind to beat Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie 16-21, 21-17, 24-22 in a grueling battle that lasted a little over an hour. With the hopes of making doubling the advantage for India, Verma took to the court for his men's singles match. However, it wasn't to be as he lost 13-21, 15-21 to Lee Zii Jia, allowing the Malaysians to make it 1-1. The seesaw battle continued further. Ace Indian shuttler, PV Sindhu comprehensively beat Goh Jin Wei 21-12, 21-8 in 35 minutes to retain the lead for India. However, the Malaysians were quick to bounce back, as Aaron Chia and Teo Ee Yi beat the doubles of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 22-20, 21-19 to once again come back level. With the teams dead-locked at 2-2, it all came down to the final match of tie, the women's doubles match. Ponnappa—two hours after her first game—returned to the court with N Sikki Reddy. However, they failed to get India across the line after losing to Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean 11-21, 19-21. India lost the tie 2-3.Next Story
