Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Defending champions Indian women began their Asian Badminton campaign in style registering a dominant 5-0 victory over Myanmar in their Group Y opener in Beijing on February 4 at the Qingdao Conson Gymnasium on February 4. The Indian team suffered a big blow before the start of the tournament as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu withdrew from competition due to a niggle.
After Sindhu’s exit, all the focus was on 17-year-old prodigy Tanvi Sharma, who was part of India’s title-winning squad in 2024, and she did not let down. Tanvi won the first match comfortably. It took her just 32 minutes to beat Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzur 21-13, 21-16 in the opening match. After a strong start, Rakshita Sree Santosh and Malvika Bansod also sealed points with straight-set wins against the visitors.
In the doubles game, the pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra got the better of Su Latt and Thet and beat the Myanmar combination in straight sets, 21-15, 21-16. In the final match, the duo of Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand crushed Htet and Phoo with a straight-set victory of 21-8, 21-6. Defending champions India will now play against last year’s runners-up Thailand in the next match.
In the tournament, each group-stage tie comprises five rubbers, which include three singles and two doubles, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
