Indian shuttlers lose final group match in Thomas and Uber Cup Final

Bangkok: India endured a tough day in office with both the men's and women's badminton teams suffering defeats in their final group match at the Thomas and Uber Cup Final here on Wednesday.

While the men's team put up a spirited fight before going down 1-4 to Chinese Taipei in group C, the women shuttlers couldn't take a single game off Korea, suffering a demoralising 0-5 defeat in group D.

However, the twin defeats will not matter much as both the teams have already sealed their respective quarterfinal berths after ensuring securing a top-two finish in the group following two victories. In the quarterfinals, the Indian women will have to pull up their socks as they face Thailand.

For the Indian women, it was a reality check after two successive wins against Canada and USA as they looked awfully out of sorts against a much superior opponent in Korea. Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu had a disappointing outing as she succumbed to her straight fifth loss to world number four An Seyoung, losing 15-21 14-21 this time in a lopsided contest, as India conceded a 0-1 lead.

The combo of Shruti Mishra and Simran Singhi was no match for world number two pair of Lee Sohee and Shin Seungchan, going down 13-21 12-21 in 39 minutes. Aakarshi Kashyap was sent packing 10-21 10-21 by world number 19 Kim Ga Eun as India surrendered the tie 0-3.

In the next two matches, Kim Hye Jeong and Kong Heeyong beat Tanisha Crasto and Treesa Jolly 21-14 21-11, while Ashmita Chaliha lost 18-21 17-21 to Sim Yujin as Korea completed a 5-0 drubbing of India.