06.45 pm: That will be all from us for today’s coverage. On Tuesday, the Indian women’s team will look to join the men in the knockouts. They take on USA in their 2nd tie, to start at 7.30 am.
Thomas Cup Group C, India 5-0 Canada: Srikanth Kidambi, leading the singles charge today instead of Lakshya Sen, gave India a 1-0 lead with a three-game win against Brian Yang. Satwik-Chirag then wasted little time in breezing through their match to put India 2-0 up. HS Prannoy sealed his win in straight games and effectively ensured India’s progress to the knockouts (which was expected to begin with). India remained unbeaten in the tournament as Krishna Prasad / Vishnuvardhan and Priyanshu Rajawat finished things off with wins. With Chinese Taipei also winning their tie against Germany, both teams are through to knockouts from this group. IND vs TPE will decide what could be a crucial top spot.
IND 5-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-22, 21-14 Victor Lai: Priyanshu Rajawat, the 20-year-old who topped the selection trials recently, puts in a solid performance to give India another 5-0 win in the tie. Yet to be beaten at this tournament so far and take on Chinese Taipei next to decide group C winners.
Here’s how the three games panned out:
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-22, 19-14 Victor Lai: Hint of a late fightback from the Canadian.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-22, 16-9 Victor Lai: The Canadian gets the serve back with a handy net chord but at this point it looks Priyanshu has this in the bag... barring a big meltdown.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-22, 11-7 Victor Lai: Priyanshu seems to have recovered well enough from the climax of the second game. Playing with good control. Finds the line with a precise smash and has a 4-point lead at the change of ends.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-22, 5-4 Victor Lai: Mentally, Priyanshu must not let the second game linger on. Slow start to the decider and he lets out a big roar as he inches ahead.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-22 Victor Lai: The 17-year-old fights back from the brink! Facing three match points, he turns things around to take the 2nd game and move into the decider. Errors from Priyanshu helped, and one can hear his coach tell him during the break: “patience”
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-20 Victor Lai: And the match points have come and gone!
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 20-17 Victor Lai: Some big roars from the Indian as he earns himself three match points.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 16-15 Victor Lai: A big roar from Priyanshu as he levels thing up against a resurgent Victor who had sneaked ahead. Proper battle this. The Indian back in the lead after a gripping rally.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13, 11-8 Victor Lai: Priyanshu staying ahead in this match.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 21-13 Victor Lai:Game 1, Priyanshu. Seems comfortable on paper but it was actually a lovely back-and-forth battle.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 19-13 Victor Lai: Copy paste from one of our earlier updates... entertaining battle actually between two young men with nothing much to lose. Some fantastic rallies at the moment but the Indian in command.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 15-10 Victor Lai: “Someone call the police because India stole the point,” says the commentator as Priyanshu throws himself around a few times to win a lovely rally.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 11-7 Victor Lai: Good control from Priyanshu after a sluggish start. Nice entertaining battle actually between two young men with nothing much to lose.
IND 4-0 CAN, Priyanshu Rajawat 8-5 Victor Lai: The teenager starts off with a 5-1 lead and Priyanshu responds with 7 straight points!
Meanwhile, India and Chinese Taipei are officially through to the knockouts from this group. Their match will decide the top spot.
IND 4-0 CAN: Time for Priyanshu Rajawat, who is actually the “senior” in this MS3 battle against 17 year old Victor Lai. Priyanshu won the trials recently for the sole MS spot in the Indian squad.
IND 4-0 CAN, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan 21-15, 21-11 Dong-Yakura: Good relentless pressure from the Indians, not taking the foot off the pedal. They might potentially not get another chance to feature in Bangkok, but have put on a superb show in this match. Match points, 10 of them. They convert their second.
Here’s how the two games panned out:
IND 3-0 CAN, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan 21-15, 11-6 Dong-Yakura: A couple of smashes where the Indians pierced the gap between their opponents with perfection, the highlight of that phase of play. On track to close this out.
IND 3-0 CAN, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan 21-15 Dong-Yakura: Fantastic rally and Krishna takes over at the net to finish it off for 5 game points. One is all it takes, Krishna again pouncing at the net.
IND 3-0 CAN, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan 16-13 Dong-Yakura: Vishnu deep in conversation with coach Mathias Boe as they court is wiped down. Must have been something about flatter points because the Indians are starting to push ahead again.
IND 3-0 CAN, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan 11-8 Dong-Yakura: The Indians started off with a comfortable 7-1 lead but the Canadians have closed the gap down. A few too many errors from the back by the Indians.
In case you missed this yesterday...
IND 3-0 CAN: Time for the 2nd men’s doubles tie. India have brought in Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan for this one, with Dhruv/Arjun presumably rested. They take on Adam Dong and Yakura Nyl, world No 198.
IND 3-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-12 BR Sankeerth: Prannoy wins! And with that, effectively sealed their place in the knockouts. This was an entertaining match for most parts, Sankeerth tested Prannoy with his movement and power, and that meant HSP had to respond with some good badminton of his own.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 21-15, 18-10 BR Sankeerth: Prannoy’s run of 9 straight points comes to end with a wild forehand but not before he played a fancy behind-the-back flick! He wanted that land in, has a wry smile on his face.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 21-15, 17-9 BR Sankeerth: All HSP at the moment.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 21-15, 16-9 BR Sankeerth: “Arm’s length...” that’s the perfect phrase for Prannoy playing this match. He has constantly pushed back at any sort of pressure from Sankeerth. Now in complete control. The Canadian is letting the frustration get the better of him now.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 21-15, 11-9 BR Sankeerth: The Canadian, who lost only to the eventual champion Kevin Cordon at the recent Pan Am continental championships, is continuing to keep Prannoy on his toes.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 21-15 BR Sankeerth: Game 1, HS Prannoy. Towards the end of that opening game, Prannoy played a lovely whipped forehand while backtracking that made the commentator go “magic!” It’s been a good contest so far... and HSP’s class shines through from a tricky position.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 15-13 BR Sankeerth: This is some hard work for HSP at the moment and he is trying to impose himself on the game vocally too, just a sign that he wants the youngster to know he is still in control. Followed by a couple of wild errors from the Canadian.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 11-9 BR Sankeerth: Was a matter of time before Prannoy found his rhythm, he is starting to move Sankeerth side to side and that is not easy to keep up. The Indian into the lead at the interval.
IND 2-0 CAN, HS Prannoy 4-7 BR Sankeerth: That is a nice little start by the Candian! Moving around the court really well, making HSP work hard.
IND 2-0 CAN: Time for HS Prannoy vs BR Sankeerth, 24 year old who is a Bangalore-born shuttler from Canada. He is ranked 82 in the world.
IND 2-0 CAN, Satwik-Chirag 21-12, 21-11 Ho Shue-Lee: 29 minutes is all it took for the top Indian pair as India go 2-0 up. One more win should be enough to seal the knockout spot.
Over in TPE vs GER, the Europeans are not making things easy for the Asians for sure.
IND 1-0 CAN, Satwik-Chirag 21-12, 11-6 Ho Shue-Lee: The Indians staying in command in this one.
France lost 0-5 to China but not before playing out a 5-match tie for 305 minutes of game-time in total.
IND 1-0 CAN, Satwik-Chirag 21-12 Ho Shue-Lee: Comfortable from start to finish for the Indians. If I heard Mathias Boe right at the interval, he wants to try out a specific routine a few times with better communication. With Chirag giving Satwik a heads up before playing a particular shot.
IND 1-0 CAN, Satwik-Chirag 17-11 Ho Shue-Lee: A fantastic rally there from both pairs but the Indians have just too many finishing options.
IND 1-0 CAN, Satwik-Chirag 11-5 Ho Shue-Lee: Comfortable for the Indians, as one would expect. Some flashes of singles brilliance here and there from the Canadians but not enough to sustain.
Elsewhere in this group, CTC too needed three games to win the opening tie. In the next hour or so both India and TPE could have confirmed their spots in the knockouts.
Thomas Cup Group C, India 1-0 Canada: Men’s doubles time and this, on paper, should be a breeze for the Indian pair of Satwik-Chirag. They are taking on Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Kevin Lee, unranked scratch pairing. (Ho-Shue played singles against TPE yesterday).
India 1-0 Canada: In what was his first meeting against Brian Yang, Srikanth took his time to get going but showed some lovely touches in games 2 and 3, to seal it in three. Had the potential to be tricky, this one but India take a 1-0 lead. Time for Satwik-Chirag to take the court now.
IND 1-0 CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 21-15 Brian Yang: SRIKANTH WINS. The Canadian misses the sidelines as Srikanth injects some pace into the punch to the backcourt. And that is enough to seal the deal. Yang started well to take the first game but Srikanth showed his class after that.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 20-15 Brian Yang: Fittingly, with some sharp net play, match points galore for Srikanth. Brian saves the first.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 19-13 Brian Yang: Oh a bad forehand error from Brian Yang, and that is followed by a superb crosscourt slice drop winner by the Indian for 17-13. Finish line in sight, series of good points.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 14-11 Brian Yang: NO let up in intensity yet from Srikanth. Brian Yang gets the serve back at 10-14 and is trying to pump himself up. Still fighting... three straight points.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 11-8 Brian Yang: A good lead for Srikanth going into the final change of ends. Srikanth seems to have the game on his racket...
Meanwhile, China vs France finally comes to a close!
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 8-7 Brian Yang: Good pace from Srikanth now, following up well at the net to move three points in front. But Brian closes the gap to one soon.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 5-5 Brian Yang: Srikanth is missing the lines again... the rollercoaster that he can be. We are back level.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11, 4-0 Brian Yang: And now it is Srilanth’s turn to go into a 4-0 lead... he will hope it doesn’t reflect game 2!
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 21-11 Brian Yang: DECIDER! Srikanth found his groove and ran away with the second game... he trailed 0-4 to start. Of course, the Canadian could have conserved a bit towards the end too.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 20-11 Brian Yang: With another nonchalant winner crosscourt, game points galore for Srikanth.
Srikanth getting it right at the net if one of the most joyful sights in badminton. What touch.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 16-9 Brian Yang: Genius at the net, when he is in the zone. Lovely crosscourt winner... and soon enough he has raced to 16-9.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 11-9 Brian Yang: Looks like Brian Yang might have challenged that if there were reviews on court 3 but as it is Srikanth takes a small lead into the mid-game interval.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 10-8 Brian Yang: And now Srikanth starting to make a move... lovely mix of pace and drops from the Indian. Yang sending a few long too, there is perhaps the drift to consider too.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 5-6 Brian Yang: Better from Srikanth... this has actually been a quite high quality match for most part.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22, 0-4 Brian Yang: 4 straight points to end the opening game, and now the run has extended to 8 straight points overall. Srikanth needs to arrest this momentum.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-22 Brian Yang: Game 1, Brian Yang! Body smash to save the 2nd game point and then Sri sends one long! Game point for Brian now.... and then Srikanth nets an attempted cross drop slice.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 20-19 Brian Yang: Srikanth showing his genius at the net! Two game points but the youngster saves one with a good smash.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 19-18 Brian Yang: Fantastic rally from both players, finished off by Sri with a good straight smash. Critical point.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 18-18 Brian Yang: Ah, there’s the Srikanth jump smash into the net that coufounds his fans some times! And then it is soon all level again.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 18-16 Brian Yang: The Canadian has closed the gap back to one point after Srikanth’s lovely run from the interval. But Srikanth produces a super crosscourt block to go 2 up again.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 11-11 Brian Yang: Better intensity from Srikanth right out of the gates after the interval. Level again.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 8-11 Brian Yang: Srikanth missing the back line a bit too often for India’s liking. Yang with a superb straight smash at the end of a nice rally to move two points ahead. And then Srikanth misses the line again as we head into the interval.
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi 7-7 Brian Yang: The Canadian is starting to show his skills. He was part of the group of shuttlers Viktor Axelsen trained with at his Dubai base. (Lakshya Sen too).
IND vs CAN, Srikanth Kidambi vs Brian Yang: We are underway. A confident start by Srikanth here, building a nice little early lead of 4-2.
Thomas Cup Group C standings: Canada were beaten 0-5 by Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Brian Yang, however, is talented enough to potentially give his side a win here. Can Srikanth navigate a potential banana skin of a match? First meeting between Srikanth (No 11) and Yang (No 29) about to start.
Thomas Cup Group C, India vs Canada: Here’s the lineup of matches. Srikanth Kidambi and HS Prannoy on MS1, MS2 duties and Priyanshu Rajawat gets the MS3 slot. Krishna Vishnu playing 2nd doubles. Starts 12.30 pm IST.
12.25 pm: Hello and welcome to our live coverage from day two of the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Bangkok.
On Sunday, both the Indian men’s and women’s teams started their campaigns with wins in the group stages of Thomas and Uber Cups respectively. The men were expected to deliver after fielding a full strength squad while women’s team’s win was especially important as it gives them a great chance of progressing from the group.
For India today, it is just Thomas Cup duties. The men’s team are back in action after a 5-0 win against Germany in their Group C opener on Sunday. They face Canada and Srikanth Kidambi will be leading the charge.
Screenshots in the blog courtesy Tournament Software / Viacom 18