Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

CWG Badminton: India blank Pakistan 5-0 in opener

July 29, 2022 22:03 IST

IMAGE: PV Sindhu in action during her match against Pakistan's Mahoor Shahzad at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters

India's fancied shuttlers didn't break a sweat on way to completing a 5-0 sweep of Pakistan in their mixed team campaign opener at the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday.

 

The duo of B Sumeeth Reddy and Machimanda Ponnappa started the proceedings with a comfortable 21-9, 21-12 win over Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti and Ghazala Siddique in their mixed doubles Group A clash at the National Exhibition Centre.

After the Pakistan pair appeared to put up a fight in the second game, Reddy finished the match with a down-the-line smash, and then, Kidambi Srikanth picked up from where his mixed doubles colleagues left, easily getting the better of Murad Ali 21-7, 21-12 in the men's singles match.

The gulf in class was evident as the Pakistanis struggled to match the high standards set by the Indians.

Then, it was the turn of double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu to grab a dominant win over Mahoor Shahzad in women's singles. The champion Indian shuttler won 21-7, 21-6.

IMAGE: Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy cruised to victory in their men's doubles match. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters

In the fourth match, which was the men's doubles contest, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty got the better of Murad Ali and Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti.

Unlike in the first three matches, Pakistan tried to take the fight to the Indians but soon, the duo of Rankireddy and Chirag found their bearings and emerged 21-12, 21-9 winners.

In the concluding women's double match, India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand crushed Mahoor Shahzad and Ghazala Siddique 21-4, 21-5 to complete the rout on a dominant note.

© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.