Defending champions India women kicked off their Badminton Asia Team Championship campaign impressively by defeating Myanmar 5-0 in their Group Y opener at the Qingdao Conson Gymnasium. The team faced a setback with PV Sindhu, a key player in their 2024 victory, withdrawing due to an injury before the tournament began.
The spotlight then turned to 17-year-old talent Tanvi Sharma, a member of the title-winning squad in 2024, who delivered a strong performance. Tanvi secured a comfortable victory in the first match, defeating Thet Htar Thuzur of Myanmar 21-13, 21-16 in just 32 minutes.
Following Tanvi’s lead, Rakshita Sree Santosh and Malvika Bansod also secured wins in straight sets against their opponents. The doubles team of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra continued India’s dominance by defeating Su Latt and Thet from Myanmar with a score of 21-15, 21-16.
In the final match, Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand sealed the victory for India with a straight-set win of 21-8, 21-6 against Htet and Phoo. The defending champions will now face Thailand, last year’s runners-up, in their upcoming match on Thursday.
The tournament format includes five rubbers in each group-stage tie, consisting of three singles and two doubles matches, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals. Additionally, this tournament serves as Asia’s qualifying event for the Thomas and Uber Cup finals, set to take place in Horsens, Denmark, in April-May.
India’s women’s team holds the defending champion title, while China currently holds the men’s championship. India’s men have previously secured bronze medals in 2016 and 2020.
