Badminton
CWG Badminton: India defeats Pakistan 5-0 in the opening match
In their mixed-team campaign opener at the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday, India’s favored shuttlers swept Pakistan 5-0 with no fuss.
In their mixed doubles Group A match at the National Exhibition Centre, B Sumeeth Reddy and Machimanda Ponnappa easily defeated Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti and Ghazala Siddique 21-9, 21-12 to get things going.
Reddy ended the match with a down-the-line smash after the Pakistani duo appeared to battle in the second game. Kidambi Srikanth then continued where his mixed doubles teammates left off by easily defeating Murad Ali 21-7, 21-12 in the men’s singles event.
The Pakistanis failed to live up to the high standards set by the Indians, highlighting the gap in status.
Then, in the women’s singles match, it was P V Sindhu’s chance to defeat Mahoor Shahzad with ease. She has won two Olympic medals in all. The world-class Indian shuttler triumphed 21-7, 21-6.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Murad Ali and Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti in the men’s doubles competition in the fourth match.
In contrast to the first three matches, Pakistan attempted to engage the Indians in battle, but Rankireddy and Chirag quickly got their footing and won 21-12, 21-9.
