Hyderabad: Indonesia, Korea and China emerged victorious after beating their respective opponents in the group stage of Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC) at the Gachibowli indoor stadium on Monday.
Indonesia men’s team got their campaigns off to a flying start in Hyderabad, where they defeated Maldives 5-0. Interestingly, last Saturday’s Thailand Masters men’s doubles winners Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan did not even take a rest following their tiring week in Bangkok last week, instead, they were fielded as the No. 1 men’s doubles pair for Indonesia on Monday.
According to the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) men’s doubles head coach – Herry Iman Pierngadi, Indonesia originally did not plan to play Ahsan/Setiawan in the opening tie.
“However, after the discussions with the team manager and the players, we have decided to let Setiawan/Ahsan play to allow them to get used to the stadium,” said Pierngadi.
While Korea dismissed Philippines 5-0 in the men’s category, and Thai women thrashed Sri Lanka 5-0, the badminton powerhouse China was pushed to the brink of defeat by Singapore before climbing back in the tie to win 3-2.
China’s Tian Houwei, ranked world number eight in men’s singles, posted an easy 21-11, 21-12 victory over his Singapore rival Derek Wong Zi Liang.
The momentum suddenly shifted in Singapore’s favor after scratch pair Loh Kean Hean and Terry Hee Yong Kai beat the World No. 11-ranked men’s doubles pair of Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan 16-21, 21-13, 21-11 before Loh Kean Hean’s brother, Loh Kean Yew pulled off another surprise upset against world No. 11 men’s singles Wang Zhengming 21-15, 21-16 to give Singapore a 2-1 lead.
However, Singapore failed to convert the winning point as Ryan Ng Zin Rei went down 15-21, 21-19, 13-21 against World No. 56 Qiao Bin of China in a 63 minutes thriller.
RESULTS
MEN
Group A: China beat Singapore 3-2
Group D: South Korea beat the Philippines 5-0
Group C: Indonesia beat Maldives 5-0
Group C: Chinese Taipei beat Thailand 4-1
WOMEN
Group B: Thailand beat Sri Lanka 5-0
Group A:China beat Hong Kong China 5-0
