India have toppled fourth seeds Thailand to reach the last four stage of the Uber Cup 2016. Taking on an evenly matched Thai squad, the Indian force came from behind to pull off an exceptional 3-1 victory over their south-east counterparts at the Kunshan Sports Centre Stadium today.
As the contest got underway, India were forced on the backfoot by World No. 2 Ratchanok Intanon when she dismissed Saina Nehwal 21-12 21-19 in a 41-minute-long, exquisite display of attacking badminton.
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Trailing 0-1, PV Sindhu came on for India and thrashed Busnan Ongbumrungphan 21-18 21-7 to make it all square heading into the tightly poised doubles clash between the pairs of Jwala Gutta – Ashwini Ponappa and Puttita Supajirakul – Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
Much to the spectators’ delight, the third match lived upto its expectations and thrilled everyone with a fierce and gritty first game that saw the Indian duo emerge on top with a slender margin of 21-19. The latter half of the contest was completely dominated by Jwala-Ashwini as the final tally read 21-12 in favour of the Indian contingent, thus leaving just one favourable result to be achieved in order to make the semis.
Finally, it was Ruthvika Shivani Gadde’s turn to amaze on court as she faced Nitchaon Jindapol in what turned out to be the clincher for India. Ranked 113 by the BWF, Ruthvika was the clear underdog in opposition to Nitchaon who’s currently 25th in the world.
However, she steamrolled over the odds en route to a brilliant 21-18 21-16 triumph that ferried the Indians into the last four of the tournament with one match to spare, meaning Sindhu’s second appearance of the day alongside N Sikki Reddy in doubles did not even require staging.
The team will face off against either China or Chinese Taipei in the semifinals. They are guaranteed a bronze medal, which will be their second consecutive one.
