India recovered from a sluggish start to beat Hong Kong in their Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024, men's opening tie in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Wednesday. (Badminton News)
BWF World Championships bronze medallist HS Prannoy suffered a straight sets (18-21, 14-21) defeat to Angus Ng Ka Long in the first rubber, but India won the next three to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Following Prannoy's rather tame defeat, the Asian Games men's doubles gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty thrashed Hong Kong pair of Lui Chun Wai and Yeung Shing C. 21-16, 21-11. Lakshya Sen then beat Yin Chak Chan 21-14, 21-9 to give India a 2-1 lead.
Doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila teamed up to beat Hin Long Chow and Kuei Chun Hung (21-12, 21-7) in the fourth rubber for a 3-1 lead. At the time of writing, Kidambi Srikanth was up against Jason Gunawan.
India, the bronze medal winners in the 2016 and 2018 editions, will face hosts China in their final Group A tie on Thursday. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women's team stunned top seeds China 3-2 in their Group W match. Their quarter-final tie is scheduled for Friday.
The biennial event also serves as the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup, to be held in Chengdu, China in April-May.
India squads
Men: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Chirag Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila, M R Arjun, Suraj Goala, Pruthvi Roy.
Women: PV Sindhu, Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto, Priya Konjengbam, Shruti Mishra.
