BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships: India win their third consecutive match

Gayatri Gopichand (in middle) with her parents
Gayatri Gopichand (in middle) with her parents

The young Indian shuttlers continued to make waves at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships 2018 in Markham, Canada, as they notched up their third consecutive win at this tournament.

A day after blanking Sri Lanka and Kenya 5-0, the 5/8th seeded India whitewashed the 17/41st seeded Faroe Islands by an identical score of 5-0.

Asian Junior Championships gold medallist Lakshya Sen was rested for this match and Kiran George took up the responsibility in men’s singles. He needed just 16 minutes to get past Arant A MyRini 21-6, 21-7. Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, the daughter of Pullela Gopichand, represented India in the women’s singles rubber and decimated Lena Maria Joensen 21-8, 21-7.

In men’s doubles, the pair of Manjit Khawairapam and Dingku Singh Konthoujam looked confident as ever and faced no hassle in their 21-11, 21-7 rout of Jonas Djurhuus and Ari M Jacobsen. In women’s doubles, Aditi Bhatt and Tanisha Crasto ran away 21-9, 21-9 winners over the pair of Lena Maria Joensen and Alma Kentsdottir Mohr Pedersen in 19 minutes.

India’s mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Bhat K and Saipratheek K Krishnaprasad too were equally impressive in their 21-7, 21-7 pulverizing of Jonas Djurhuus and Sissal Thomsen, that took just 15 minutes.

With three commanding wins in three ties, India now sit atop the Group E standings. The only team from the group they are yet to meet so far is Algeria. India’s final group assignment against the Algerians will be on Thursday following which they are certain to move into the quarter-finals.

In some of the other early matches on Day 3 of this tournament, Chinese Taipei beat France 4-1, Canada blanked Poland 5-0, Malaysia pummelled Ukraine 5-0, South Africa got the better of Mongolia 4-1, and Norway bulldozed Uganda 5-0.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram