Hangzhou, Oct 1: Injured HS Prannoy’s absence hurt India as they went down fighting 2-3 against badminton powerhouse China to sign off with their first-ever silver medal in the men’s team championships at the Asian Games here on Sunday.
After world No. 7 Prannoy was ruled out due to a back injury, Lakshya Sen produced a gutsy show in the first singles and doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then bossed over their opponents to put India 2-0 ahead.
So, it was once again left to Srikanth to carry the team on his shoulders.
The former world No. 1, who had produced a gritty show against South Korea in the semifinals, couldn’t go the distance this time despite a healthy lead and multiple game points as China fought back to make it 1-2.
The defending champions then won the remaining two matches to maintain their hegemony in the Asian Games.
With Prannoy missing the summit clash due to a back injury, Sen was handed the responsibility of leading the Indian charge.
Sen recovered from a mid-game slump to erase a five-point deficit in the decider and put India ahead with a 22-20, 14-21, 21-18 win over world No. 6 Shi Yuqi in an 83-minute opening slugfest.
World No. 3 men’s doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag then went on a smashing spree to outclass world No 2. Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 21-15, 21-18 in 55 minutes to extend the lead to 2-0.
Srikanth, however, squandered an 18-14 lead and multiple game points in the first game to go down 22-24, 9-21 against All England champion Li Shifeng in the third singles to expose India’s weakest link – the second doubles and third singles matches.
Scratch pair of Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek Krishna Prasad then lost 6-21, 15-21 to world No. 8 Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi.
Meanwhile, Prannoy’s replacement Mithun Manjunath, ranked 53, went down 12-21, 4-21 against world No. 20 Weng Hong Yang in the third singles as India finished second best.
Despite the loss, it is a creditable performance from the Indian team. (PTI)
