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India got off to a disastrous start at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia, on Tuesday.
The men’s team suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat to Korea in their opening Group A match.
Barring Mithun Manjunath, all the other players put up a disappointing performance against the young-looking Korean outfit.
Even World Championship bronze medalist Lakshya Sen failed to rise to the occasion against unheralded Korean Jeon Hyeok Jin, ranked 2094 in the world.
India lost all three of their singles and two doubles matches and managed to win just a solitary game against their inspired rivals.
Their spineless performance in their first match has made qualification for the semifinals pretty tough. The new-look team will have to win both their remaining matches to enter the semifinals.
Lakshya Sen fails to provide winning start for India
Much was expected from Lakshya Sen but the world No. 13 failed to live up to the expectations. Last month’s India Open champion Lakshya went down 11-21, 19-21 to Jeon Hyeok Jin in a match that lasted 42 minutes.
After losing the first game quite easily, 20-year-old Lakshya bounced back well in the second game. However, Lakshya succumbed under pressure and lost the second game narrowly. The 26-year-old Korean capitalized on unforced errors by Lakshya to seal the match in straight games.
Lakshya's surprise defeat in the opening match perhaps demoralized the Indian camp as they never recovered from the early jolt.
In the second match, Odisha Open men’s doubles runners-up Ravikrishna PS and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar lost 8-21, 10-21 to Hwi Tae Kim and Kim Jaehwan. Ravikrishna and Sankar Prasad never threatened their Korean rivals and slumped to a facile loss.
Korea’s Joo Wan Kim sealed the win for his team when they won the second singles. World No. 75 Kiran George began well but could not handle his opponent. The Odisha Open champion lost 18-21, 14-21 in 42 minutes.
The embarrassing performances continued as India lost their second men’s doubles after that. Manjit Singh Khwairakpam and Dingku Singh Konthoujam proved no match for Yong Jin and Na Sung Seung. The Korean pair won 21-7, 21-15 in just 26 minutes.
Mithun Manjunath puts up a brave fight but fails to win
The only consolation for the Indian camp was the fighting performance by Mithun Manjunath in the fifth and final match of the tie.
The Karnataka youngster put up a brave effort before going down 16-21, 27-25, 14-21 to Min Sun Jeong in a marathon match which lasted more than an hour.
The men’s team will next face Hong Kong onThursday and Indonesia on Friday.
The women’s team will start their campaign against hosts Malaysia in Group Y on Wednesday.
Results (Men’s Group A)
India lost to Korea 0-5
Lakshya Sen lost to Jeon Hyeok Jin 11-21, 19-21 (42 minutes)
Ravikrishna PS-Sankar Prasad Udayakumar lost to Hwi Tae Kim-Kim Jaehwan 8-21, 10-21 (27 minutes)
Kiran George lost to Joo Wan Kim 18-21, 14-21 (42 minutes)
Manjit Singh Khwairakpam-Dingku Singh Konthoujam lost to Yong Jin-Na Sung Seung 7-21, 15-21 (26 minutes)
Mithun Manjunath lost to Min Sun Jeong 16-21, 27-25, 14-21 (64 minutes).
