Sudirman Cup 2023: India lose to Chinese Taipei 1-4 in Group C opening tie

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Suzhou (China), May 14: India made a dismal start to their Sudirman Cup 2023 campaign, going down to the formidable Chinese Taipei 1-4 in their group C opening round tie at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre in Suzhou, China on Sunday (May 14).

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, doubles pairs Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and K Sai Pratheek-Tanisha Crasto all lost their respective matches, while Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand earned the sole win.

There was, however, no lack of fight from the Indian players as Crasto and Prateek started on a positive note in the mixed doubles contest but they ran out of steam in the end, losing 21-18 24-26 6-21 to world no. 30 Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang.

World Number 9 HS Prannoy then couldn't find his 'A' game, going down 19-21 15-21 to world no. 5 Chou Tien Chen as India lagged 0-2 after the first two matches.

Sindhu was then handed the responsibility to bring India back into the tie but it was always going to be a tough task with her nemesis and former world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying standing across the net.

The double Olympic medallist produced a gritty performance after the opening game reversal but couldn't go the distance as Tai Tzu managed a 21-14 18-21 21-17 win, allowing Chinese Taipei to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match tie.

In-form, Rankireddy and Shetty then fought hard before losing 13-21 21-17 18-21 to Lee Yang and Ye Hong Wei in the men's doubles match in a little over an hour as India further slumped to 0-4.

World No 17 Jolly and Gopichand pair then showed tremendous grit as they recovered from an opening game loss to eke out a 21-15 18-21 13-21 win over Lee Chia Hsin and Teng Chun Hsun in the final women's doubles tie to help India avoid a cleansweep.

India will face Commonwealth Games mixed team champion Malaysia in their second Group C match on Monday (May 15). Malaysia beat Australia 5-0 to top the group on Sunday (May 14).

(With PTI inputs)