Qingdao (China), Feb 5 (PTI) India’s title defence in the women’s team event came to a disappointing end after a 0-3 loss to a second-string China in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships here on Friday.
India had won a historic gold medal in the previous edition in 2024, but the absence of the talismanic PV Sindhu due to a niggle made the task of defending the title a tough one.
World No. 42 Tanvi, who had been leading the charge in the first singles with two wins earlier in the tournament, failed to provide a positive start, losing 9-21 9-21 to World No. 10 Gao Fang Jie in a lop-sided opener.
The doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly then put up a spirited fight before going down 22-24 18-21 to the world No.4 combination of Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian, as China took a decisive 2-0 lead.
Facing a do-or-die situation, Rakshitha Ramraj battled hard against Xu Wen Jing in the second singles but eventually lost 14-21 21-15 17-21 in a 69-minute contest.
India had begun their campaign with a 5-0 sweep of Myanmar before suffering a narrow 2-3 defeat to Thailand in their final group tie on Thursday.
The Indian men’s team will face South Korea in the quarterfinals later in the day. PTI ATK PM ATK PM PM
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