The Indian women’s badminton team, having secured their spot in the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 quarterfinals, faced a challenging match against China in their final Group A encounter. Despite being the underdogs against a team boasting all of the world’s top-10 ranked players, India’s young squad, with an average age below 25, displayed commendable effort and gained valuable experience ahead of the knockout stage.
In the singles matches, Isharani Baruah faced Olympic champion Chen Yufei, initially leading 6-4 in the first game before ultimately losing 21-12, 21-10. Baruah acknowledged the match’s high speed and expressed a desire to improve her consistency despite showing glimpses of competitive play.
The national champions Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra then faced world number 1 duo Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan, losing 21-13, 21-12. Anmol Kharb, in the second singles, had to retire due to injury against Han Yue.
The Indian pair Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker, along with debutant Tanvi Sharma, gave their best effort but fell short against their Chinese counterparts.
Fifteen-year-old Tanvi Sharma, in her debut, showed resilience against Asian champion Wang Zhi Yi in the second game, eventually losing 21-7, 21-16.
The final result saw India lose 0-5 to China, with detailed scores reflecting the competitive nature of each match.