India’s chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Sudirman Cup ended after a 5-0 thrashing from formidable China here on Monday.
It was India’s second consecutive defeat, after losing the Group A opener to Thailand.
Against 11-time champion China, the chances were always slim for the new-look Indian team. The absence of double Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu, London Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy left India cutting a sorry figure.
M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapil put up a fight against Liu Cheng and Zhou Hao Dong before going down 20-22, 17-21. Young Aditi Bhatt then ran into Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei, who expectedly notched up an easy 21-9, 21-8 win.
World No. 15 B. Sai Praneeth took the court against former All England Champion Shi Yuqi, but it turned out be a one-sided affair as he went down 10-21, 10-21.
In the last two inconsequential matches, Commonweath Games bronze medallists Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy lost 16-21, 13-21 to World No. 15 Zheng Yu and Li Wen Mei, while Du Yue and Feng Yan Zhe beat the scratch pair of K. Srikanth and Rutaparna Panda 9-21, 9-21 in mixed doubles.
The results: China bt India 5-0 (Liu Cheng & Zhou Hao Dong bt M.R. Arjun & Dhruv Kapil 22-20, 21-17; Chen Yu Fei bt Aditi Bhatt 21-9, 21-8; Shi Yuqi bt B. Sai Praneeth 21-10, 21-10; Zheng Yu & Li Wen Mei bt Ashwini Ponnappa & N. Sikki Reddy 21-16, 21-13; Du Yue & Feng Yan Zhe bt K. Srikanth & Rutaparna Panda 21-9, 21-9.
