Asia Team Championships: Indonesia overwhelm hosts in semis

Hyderabad: After three days of great performances, India had finally run their course. The hosts were defeated 1-3 by Indonesia as curtains came down on their campaign at the Badminton Asia Team Championships being played at the GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.

After singles star Kidambi Srikanth gave them a flying start, the Indians faltered badly, losing the remaining three matches in straight games.

The only consolation for the hosts will be that, in qualifying for the semifinals, they made the cut for Thomas Cup. Srikanth hit the ground running in his opening singles match against Tommy Sugiarto. He played his heart out, bagging the first game 21-14. He looked set to take the second game as well, but Sugiarto had other ideas. The Indonesian World No.10 clawed his way back into contention, eventually claiming the second game 25-23, thus forcing the match into a decider. In the third game, Srikanth gathered his wits, and put on a dominant show. Playing with a mixture of aggression and craftiness, Srikanth defeated Sugiarto 21-9 to seal the match.

Despite the 1-0 advantage, the doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy stumbled. The duo were comprehensively outplayed 21-11, 21-10 as Indonesia pulled level in the tie.

Two days ago, with India in a similar situation, Ajay Jayaram played brilliantly to give the hosts the lead. On Saturday, however, he ran out of luck. Ginting Anthony, ranked World No.34, stunned Ajay in straight games 21-15, 22-20 as Indonesia took a 2-1 lead in the tie.

Pranaav Jerry Chopra/ Akshay Dewalkar did their best to keep their team alive in the tie, but they were no match for the Indonesian duo of Angga Pratama/ Ricky Karanda Suwardi, losing 13-21, 21-18, 15-21.

Indonesia powered through 21-13 in the opening game of the tie. Just when it seemed like the hosts were down and out, Pranaav and Akshay pulled a rabbit out of the hat, bagging the second game 21-18 to force the match into the third game. After a tense back-and-forth, Indonesia clinched it 21-15 and in doing so, entered the final.

On Sunday, Indonesia will clash with Japan for the men’s title while China take on Japan for the women’s trophy.