India lose 1-4 to Indonesia, exit Sudirman Cup

PV Sindhu and her colleagues were sent packing by the Indonesians in their group match. India bow out of the Sudirman Cup 2013.

Kuala Lumpur, May 20 (IANS) Indian shuttlers Monday lost their second and final Group A tie to Indonesia 1-4 to exit the Sudirman Cup on the second day of competitions at the Putra Stadium here

After suffering a humiliating 0-5 loss Sunday to four-time defending champions China in the biennial tournament, India only managed to win one match out of five as Parupalli Kashyap was the lone bright spot.

In the first match of the day, India’s Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Jerry Chopra lost their men’s doubles tie to Pratama Angga and Saputro Rian Agung 13-21, 10-21 in 24 minutes.

P.V. Sindhu, who brilliantly fought to take a game from World Champion Yihan Wang Sunday, however, disappointed the Indian contingent, losing to Lindaweni Fanetri 15-21, 10-21 in 36 minutes in the women’s singles tie. This was Lindaweni’s second win over the Hyderabadi in four career meetings.

In a do-or-die men’s singles clash, Kashyap, who looked completely out of colour against Chen Long Sunday, defeated Rumbaka Dionysius Hayom 21-18, 21-14 in 44 minutes for the first time in his career in three meetings. This was India’s only win in this edition’s world team championships.

In the fourth match-up, Ashwini Ponnappa and Pradnya Gadre lost their women’s doubles match to Polii Greysia and Maheswari Nitya Krishinda in two incredibly close games which lasted 37 minutes. The Indian duo held a game point too in the second game but went on to lose the next three to lose the game and match 19-21, 20-22.

In the mixed doubles dead rubber, Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu could not put up a fight against Ahmad Tontowi and Natsir Liliyana losing 13-21, 14-21 in 29 minutes.

The last group match will be between China and Indonesia to decide the table-toppers as both nations have qualified for the next stage.