India celebrated their second victory with a 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates, effectively securing a place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Mixed Team Badminton Championships in Dubai on Wednesday. Star players P. V. Sindhu and H. S. Prannoy have rested after India’s 5-0 win over Kazakhstan in Tuesday’s opener. Aakarshi Kashyap and Lakshya Sen competed in Wednesday’s women’s singles and men’s singles respectively. Sen started the proceedings first as the India national team, easily defeating Dev Vishnu in the 31st minute she won 21-16 21-12.
Aakarshi then beat Madhumita Sundarapandian 21-6, 21-7 in just her 26th minute, giving India her 2-0 lead. Men’s doubles Dhruv Kapila and Chirag Shetty defeated the duo of Dev Aiyapan and Diren Aiyapan 3-0, 21-15, 21-14. In Women’s doubles, Ashwini Bart and Shikha Gautam and in mixed doubles Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Kurast completed the procedure with easy wins over their respective opponents. (Read Also: Thailand Open 2023: Satwik and Chirag duo ‘Out of tournament’, Saina removes self)
Ashwini and Shikha beat her UAE pair Sanika Dhawan and Akansharaj 21-7 21-4 while Ishaan and Tanisha defeated Rasheeshvaras and Rajesh Nayonica 21-13 21-8. India will face Malaysia in their Group B final match on Thursday, which will be their toughest match yet. The top two teams in each of the four groups of four will qualify for the quarterfinals.
