India’s journey in Sudirman Cup 2023 has come to an end on Monday after facing defeat against Malaysia 5-0. While Malaysia made it to the quarterfinals. Before Malaysia, India had also lost against Chinese Taipei. Now India’s last match will be against Australia on Wednesday. But even a win will not help them finish in the top two.
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Chinese Taipei and Malaysia have both won two matches each and will reach the last eight from Group C at the Sudirman Cup 2023. India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Ashwini Ponnappa went down 21-16 21-17 to Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie in the first of the five-match tie against Malaysia. The Indian pair started slowly and lost the first game 21-16. Dhruv Kapila and Ashwini Ponnappa made a comeback to start the second game strongly but the Malaysian pair withstood the pressure and handed Malaysia a 1-0 lead.
In the second encounter of the Sudirman Cup 2023, world number 22 Kidambi Srikanth took the court against world number eight Lee Zii Jia in the men’s singles match. Srikanth took an early 4-1 lead but was unable to maintain the intensity. Lee Zii fought back to take an 11-8 lead in the first break. The Malaysian then won four straight points to take the first game 21-16. In the second game, Kidambi Srikanth was no match for the formidable Lee Zii Jia as the Malaysian clinched the match 21-16, 21-11.
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With India trailing 2-0, everything fell on two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu to get the team back in the hunt. The former world champion faces world No. 30 Goh Jin Wei in a must-win tie. PV Sindhu raced to an 11-5 lead in the first game. Despite some resistance from Goh Jin Wei, the Indian emerged victorious in her challenge to take the first game against the Malaysian. However, the momentum began to change in the second game. The Malaysian first outclassed higher-ranked PV Sindhu before sealing the 53-minute match with a hard-fought win in the third game. The final score read 14–21, 21–10, 22–20 in favor of Wei.
