Asia Mixed Team C’ships: Ashmita, George-Shukla shine, India loses to Chinese Taipei

Ashmita Chaliha and the Arun George-Sanyam Shukla pair emerged victorious in the first two matches to give India a 2-0 lead

Ashmita Chaliha (in picture) came through a marathon and secured a 21-18, 17-21, 21-19 win.

India crashed out of the Asia Mixed Team badminton Championships after losing 2-3 to Chinese Taipei, despite some brilliant performances by rising star Ashmita Chaliha and men’s doubles pair of Arun George and Sanyam Shukla here Thursday.

Ashmita and George-Shukla emerged victorious in the first two matches to give India a 2-0 lead in the five-match tie but defeats in the next three matches meant India failed to progress from Group B.

India had suffered a defeat to Singapore by an identical scoreline in its opening Group B match.

With this win, a resilient Taipei booked its quarterfinal berth.

George and Shukla showed nerves of steel to hold off the World No. 14 pair of Liao Min Chun and Ching Heng for a 21-17, 17-21, 21-14 win.

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Assam’s 19-year-old Chaliha then played beyond her age to get a marathon 21-18, 17-21, 21-19 win in exactly an hour.

With India leading 2-0, World No. 32 Wang Tzu Wei and three-time Indian national champion Sourabh Verma were locked in a gritty contest before the Chinese Taipei shuttler pulled off a 21-7, 16-21, 23-21 victory.

It motivated the women’s doubles and mixed doubles teams of the Taipei squad which did not even drop a game to complete the win.

While the women’s doubles pair of Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun beat Arathi Sara Sunil and Rutaparna Panda 21-19, 21-17, the mixed doubles combine of Hsieh Pei Shan and Tseng Min Hao easily dismissed Shikha Gautam and Shlok Ramchandran 21-15, 21-14.

India thus failed to emulate its performance from the last edition in which it had made it to the quarterfinals.