Indian men edge out Thailand 3-2 to enter semifinals of Asia Team Championships
The Indian men's team assured itself of a medal after progressing to the semifinals with a thrilling 3-2 win over Thailand at the Badminton Asia Team Championships here on Friday.
After star shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth faced reversals in the first two singles ties, India fought back to win the next three ties, which included a single and two doubles rubbers, to prevail over Thailand in the quarterfinals and set up a last four meeting with two-time defending champions Indonesia.
The men's team had last won a bronze after losing 1-3 to Indonesia in the semifinals of the 2016 Hyderabad edition.
World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth started the proceedings, but his gallant effort ended in a 14-21 21-14 12-21 loss to world No. 12 Kantaphon Wangcharoen, as India lagged 0-1.
In the second singles, former world No. 1 Srikanth went down 20-22 14-21 to Kunlavut Vitidsarn, a three-time world junior champion, as India slipped to 0-2.
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