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Indian shuttlers advanced to mixed team quarterfinals at World University Games, defeating USA 3-1.
Badminton representative photo (X)
The young Indian shuttlers overcame a gritty challenge from the United States to advance to the mixed team quarterfinals, while talented tennis player Vaishnavi Adkar secured a place in the pre-quarterfinals at the World University Games in Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region on Saturday.
Taekwondo exponent Anika fought hard before losing her 46kg quarterfinal bout to a South Korean opponent, while fencer Abhinansh Meitei was defeated in the pre-quarterfinal after commendable wins against Qatari and Israeli opponents on the third day of competitions.
The Indian mixed team shuttlers held centre stage by defeating the USA 3-1, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Malaysia later in the day and moving one step closer to securing a medal for the country.
The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Karunakaran and Vaishnavi Khadekar gave India a 1-0 lead by beating Arthur Lee and Katelin Ngo 13-15, 15-3, 15-12.
Saneeth Dayanand, ranked 100th in the world, then overcame Ryan Ma 15-8, 10-15, 15-7 to give India a 2-0 lead. Upcoming women’s singles player Devika Sihag put up a fight before losing to Ella Lin 11-15, 20-21, as India led 2-1.
However, the men’s doubles pair of Saneeth Dayanand and Sathish Karunakaran closed out the tie with a dominating 15-9, 15-9 win over Andre Chim and Samuel Wales Li.
What About Other Indians?
In tennis, 20-year-old Vaishnavi Adkar had little trouble overcoming Finland’s Venla Elisa Ahti 6-2, 6-4 to enter the pre-quarterfinals on the strength of her superior second serve.
Taekwondo exponent Anika defeated Germany’s Ingrid-Gabriela Busuioc and Helin Rüya Kodaman in the round of 32 and pre-quarterfinals respectively before meeting her match in South Korea’s Kim Yunseo in the 46kg quarterfinal.
Armaan Yadav in the 52kg category lost his round-of-32 bout to Kazakhstan’s Aziret Duisenbek 0-2, while Payal also couldn’t advance in the 57kg category, losing to a Portuguese opponent.
Fencer Abhinash Meitei got past Qatar’s Abdalla Khalifa 15-5 in men’s individual foil after dominating all three periods in the round of 64. He then overcame Adam Eliaz of Israel 15-9 in the round of 32 before being outsmarted by Poland’s Jan Hieromin Nowak 15-8 in the pre-quarters.
Abhinash was in the contest till the second period, which he won 4-6, but Nowak was too good for him in the third period, winning 3-0.
The Indian women’s basketball team lost to Argentina 57-86 and will face Finland in the last Group A match on Sunday, with no chances of making it to the knockouts.
The Indian women’s table tennis team lost their quarterfinal match to Chinese Taipei 0-3, thus ending their run in the competition.
Pritha Vartikar lost to Cheng Pusyuan 9-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, while Sayali Wani was overpowered by Chien Tung-chuan 11-4, 3-11, 11-9, 6-11, 5-11 in a match of swinging fortunes. Suhana Saini was then beaten by Huang Yu-jie 6-11, 8-11, 8-11.
In individual competition, Suhana defeated Azerbaijan’s Nigar Mahmudova 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 in Group 4. Taneesha Kotecha overcame Mariam El Habech of Lebanon 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 in Group 2, and Pritha Vartikar defeated USA’s Emily Tan 7-11, 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 in Group 16.
India finished last in the 4×100 medley, clocking 4:12.70 seconds.
(With inputs from PTI)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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