Taiwan yesterday dominated India 4-1 on the first day of the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals in Suzhou, China.
In the women’s singles event of their Group C showdown at the Suzhou Olympics Sports Centre, world No. 3 Tai Tzu-ying beat world No. 12 Pusarla V. Sindhu 21-14, 18-21, 21-17.
In men’s singles, world No. 5 Chou Tien-chen made quick work of India’s H.S. Prannoy, defeating the world No. 9 player 21-19, 21-15.
Photo: AFP
In the opening match, Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang overcame Sai Pratheek and Tanisha Crasto 18-21, 26-24, 21-6 to give Taiwan their first win of Group C.
After losing the first game, the Taiwanese pair saved match point to stay alive.
“We escaped in the second. It was a close call,” Yang told the BWF Web site.
In the men’s doubles, Olympic gold medalist Lee Yang and partner Ye Hong-wei overcame Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 21-13, 17-21, 21-18.
Taiwan’s only defeat in the matchup was in the women’s doubles, where Lee Chia-hsin and Teng Chun-hsun lost 15-21, 21-18, 21-13 to Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela.
Taiwan are tied in the group with Malaysia, who swept Australia 5-0 in the opening round.
Taiwan are today to play Australia, while Malaysia face India.
In Group D, South Korea beat France 4-1, while Japan were set to face England, and Group A’s Denmark were to play Singapore, followed by the most recent champions China versus Egypt.
Group B teams start their matches today.
The Sudirman Cup has been held every two years since 1989. China, who has the most tournament victories at 12, won the title in 2021 in Vantaa, Finland, and 2019’s in Nanjing, China. South Korea has won four times, most recently in 2017 in Gold Coast, Australia, while Indonesia won the first edition in Jakarta.
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