Uber cool Ruthvika ensures second successive medal finish
Kunshan, May 19
The Indian women’s badminton team assured itself of at least a bronze medal after notching up a comfortable 3-1 win over Thailand in the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup on Thursday. This will be the second successive podium finish for the women’s team. They had created history in the last edition of the tournament in New Delhi when they clinched the country’s first ever medal, a bronze, in the Uber Cup.
On a day when India’s top shuttler Saina Nehwal had to bite the dust against the 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon, PV Sindhu and the pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa took the responsibility on themselves and won the second singles and the first doubles, respectively. And then Ruthvika Shivani Gadde sealed the tie for India, dishing out a superb game to outclass Nitchaon Jindapol in the second singles. India are likely to take on China in the semifinals on Friday.
In the first singles, Olympics bronze-medallist Nehwal could not breach the defence of world No. 2 Ratchanok. The Thai girl notched up a 21-12 21-19 win to give Thailand a 1-0 lead. It was world No. 8 Nehwal’s fifth defeat to the Thai girl.
However, world No. 10 Sindhu brought India back in the hunt after registering a 21-18 21-7 win over Busanan Ongbumrungphan in the second singles, which lasted 43 minutes.
In the first doubles, 2010 Commonwealth Games champions Gutta and Ponnappa beat Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-19 21-12 in a 39-minute clash to make it 2-1 in India’s favour.
Gadde was then given the responsibility of taking India home and the 19-year-old showed her prowess with a 21-18 21-16 win over world No. 25 Nitchaon in a 41-minute third singles. With her win, the second doubles between Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai and N Sikki Reddy and Sindhu was rendered inconsequential. — PTI
