Daijiworld Media Network - Yatsushiro
Yatsushiro, Jun 27: India secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships with a convincing 2-0 win over Kazakhstan in their opening Group C match in Yatsushiro, Japan.
The girls’ doubles pair of Durga Esha Kandrapu and Keerthy Manchala gave India the perfect start by defeating Alissa Kuleshova and Diana Namenova 11-5.
Puneeth Suresh and Deepti Raj Aditi then strengthened India’s position with a close 11-10 victory over Mustafa Malikzhan and Alissa Kuleshova.
India continued their dominance in the remaining matches to comfortably seal the tie. The Indian players also produced a strong second set performance, with none of them conceding more than six points in any match.
India are placed in Group C along with Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and the Philippines. Their upcoming clash against Chinese Taipei will decide the group winner.