Thomas Cup: India rout Canada, qualify for knockout phase

H S Prannoy
H S Prannoy easily won his singles match against B R Sankeerth. File photo

Bangkok: The Indian men's badminton team notched up its second successive win with a 5-0 thrashing of Canada in a group tie to qualify for the knockout round of the Thomas Cup here on Monday.

With its second impressive result, the Indian team, which defeated Germany 5-0 on Sunday, qualified for the knockout round.

World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth fought back from a game down to beat Brian Yang 20-22, 21-11, 21-15 in 52 minutes to give India the lead.

The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then needed just 29 minutes to beat Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Kevin Lee before world No. 23 H S Prannoy easily won his singles match against B R Sankeerth 21-15, 21-12 to make it 3-0 and clinch the tie for India.

The second doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala  proved too good for the duo of Dong Adam and Nyl Yakura as they won 21-15, 21-11 in 34 minutes.

The rout was completed when Priyanshu Rajawat beat Victor Lal in three games, 21-13, 20-22, 21-14 in the third men's singles which lasted 52 minutes.

The Indian men are searching for their maiden medal in the tournament. No Indian men's team has ever reached the semifinals of the Thomas Cup.

The Indian team will play its final Group C match against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday.

The Indian women's team had also begun its Uber Cup campaign on a resounding note with a 4-1 win against Canada on Sunday.

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