For the Indian Badminton Fans – it’s not a view they want to see. Losing 5-0 to the most successful team in Sudirman Cup’s history. On Monday, September 27, India vs China match was played at the Energia Areena in Vantaa, Finland. After this encounter, India is at the bottom of the Group A Table of 2021 Sudirman Cup with 2 matches lost.
Only the top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. China has won their previous match against hosts Finland 5-0 on Sunday and defeated India with the same scoreline. Whereas, India went down 4-1 to Thailand – their first encounter of the 2021 Sudirman Cup.
India’s squad for this biennial tournament – Sudirman Cup 2021, has star names missing such as the likes of PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. Whereas, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, India’s top men’s doubles pair withdrew last-minute from the tournament due to medical reasons.
2021 Sudirman Cup – Line-up for India vs China – at Court 1 of Energia Areena
We are ready for another challenge. 💪
Can you predict the score of today's encounter? 🏸 #PBLIndia #Badminton #SudirmanCup2021 pic.twitter.com/QiepCp6rV5
— PBL India (@PBLIndiaLive) September 27, 2021
The 1st Match was Men’s Doubles – Having won India’s only match against Thailand, the Indian pair of Arjun M.R. and Dhruv Kapila couldn’t achieve the same feat against China’s Liu Cheng/Zhou Haodong. The Indian duo fought hard as in both games they were trailing but won few points. Liu Cheng/Zhou Haodong held their nerves and won in straight games 22-20, 21-17 in a match lasting 49 minutes.
In Women’s Singles, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Gold Medalist Chen Yufei of China faced India’s unranked 18-year-old Aditi Bhatt – playing her first-ever senior international tournament. Well, the score reflected the one-sided dominance done by Chen Yufei as she won 21-9, 21-8 under thirty minutes. Thus, China leading 2-0 against India.
Next up, Men’s Singles – China assuring the victory as World No. 10 Shi Yuqi won in straight games 21-10, 21-10 against India’s B. Sai Praneeth, ranked 15th in the world.
Women’s Doubles had China’s Li Wenmei/Zheng Yu up against India’s Ashwini Ponnappa/N. Sikki Reddy in the encounter. It was China’s pair who emerged victorious with straight games win 21-16, 21-13.
The last fixture was Mixed Doubles, where India sent its Men’s Singles Player Srikanth Kidambi to partner with Rutaparna Panda and they faced Feng Yanzhe/Du Yue of China. The Chinese duo won in straight games 21-9, 21-9.
As a result, the final score read China 5-0 India at the 2021 Sudirman Cup – Group A Encounter.
