Badminton Asia Team Championships: India lose 2-3 to China, but qualify for QFs

Kuala Lumpur: Men's Team India finished second in Group A, losing 2-3 to People's Republic of China in their Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 here on Thursday.

Despite the defeat, India are in the quarterfinals as they defeated Hong Kong China on Wednesday.

In Thursday's match, India rested Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the current world No.1 men's doubles team, and former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth.

Team India won the first singles match with world No. 7 HS Prannoy beating Weng Hong Yang, 16th in the world badminton rankings, by a 6-21, 21-18, 21-19 scoreline.

MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila then lost the doubles match against Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi 21-15, 19-21, 21-19 before Lakshya Sen put India ahead after defeating Lei Lan Xi 21-11, 21-16. However, India lost the next two matches to lose the tie. Suraj Goala and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy, replacing Satchi for the tie, lost to Ren Xiang Yu and Xie Hao Nan 21-13, 21-9.

Chirag Sen lost to China's Wang Zheng Xing 21-15, 21-16 in the decider. China topped the group with four points, while India ended runners-up with two points.

The Indian women's team, led by PV Sindhu, upset China in Group W to make the quarters scheduled for Friday.

The Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 offers valuable Race to Paris 2024 ranking points, which will be crucial for shuttlers looking to compete at the upcoming Olympic Games. The 2024 edition of the biennial continental team championships will also serve as the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup to be held in Chengdu, China in April-May. India are the current holder of the Thomas Cup.