New Delhi: The Indian men’s team salvaged some pride with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Germany in their inconsequential Group C tie to end their campaign in the Thomas Cup on a positive note here on Wednesday.
The Indian men had lost 4-1 to Malaysia and 3-2 to South Korea earlier to put paid to their quarterfinal hopes.
After two losses in the last ties, K Srikanth gave India a good start as he edged Marc Zwiebler 21-18, 18-21, 21-18.
However, Michael Fuchs and Johannes Schoettler whipped India’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 21-15, 21-6 as Germany drew parity at 1-1.
Captain Parupalli Kashyap tried his heart out in the second singles but could not get past Dieter Domke, who eked out a hard-fought 23-21, 14-21, 21-14 to give his team a 2-1 lead.
The doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Jerry Chopra then brought India back into the hunt with a thrilling 21-9, 17-21, 21-19 win over Peter Kaesbauer and Josche Zurwonne in the second doubles.
With India’s fate hinging on the third singles, RMV Gurusaidutt defeated Lucas Schmidt 14-21, 21-19, 21-19 in a come-from-behind high-octane match during which the noise made by the crowd hit a crescendo. (PTI)
