Struggling singles stars PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy disappointed yet again as India crashed out of the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals after losing 1-4 to formidable Indonesia in a group D match in Xiamen Tuesday. (More Badminton News)
Having lost to Denmark 1-4 in their opening match on Sunday, India needed to win Tuesday's contest to stay alive in the race for the knockout stage. The defeat has rendered India's last group match on Thursday against England -- who also made an exit from the tournament -- inconsequential.
Indonesia, who had beaten England 5-0 on Sunday, and Denmark made it to the knock-out round after winning two matches on the trot. Denmark prevailed over England 5-0 on Tuesday.
With only two teams progressing from the group to the knock-out round, it was a must-win match for India but they were outclassed by their more fancied opponents. The poor form of their star singles players -- Prannoy and Sindhu -- did not help the team's cause.
Sindhu and Prannoy had lost their respective women's and singles matches against Denmark also.
India made a winning start with the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who edged past Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Gloria Emanuelle Widjala 10-21 21-18 21-19 in a gruelling match that lasted one hour and 10 minutes.
In the women's singles, double Olympic medallist Sindhu, ranked 18th now, continued to struggle for form, losing 12-21 13-21 to world number 11 Putri Kusuma Wardani, a player she has beaten twice before, in 38 minutes.
With the tie levelled 1-1, Prannoy was up against Jonatan Christie, and he was on the front foot after taking the first game 21-19 but the world number six Indonesian took control of the match after that as he won the second and third games 21-14 21-12 against the world number 30 Indian.
The women's doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra was no match to Lanny Tria Mayasari and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, losing 10-21 9-21 as Indonesia took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie.
In the inconsequential fifth match, the inexperienced men's doubles duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi gave a tough fight to the higher-ranked Indonesians Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin but lost 20-22 18-21 in 50-minute contest.
India's best-ever performance at the Sudirman Cup has been two quarterfinal finishes in 2011 and 2017.
While India has made significant progress in recent years -- highlighted by their historic Thomas Cup win in 2022 and the Badminton Asia Women's Team Championships title in 2024 -- the absence of key doubles pairs has dampened their prospects in the Sudirman Cup.
The Indian team had come here without the top men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as well as the women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
Satwik and Chirag withdrew from the tournament due to illness while Treesa and Gayatri are currently injured.
Back in February, India had suffered a setback at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, despite fielding a strong squad.
