BWF Junior Mixed Team C'ships: India defeats Slovenia

SANTANDER: The Indian team defeated Slovenia in their final Group B tie in the ongoing World Junior Mixed Team Badminton Championship being held in Santander, Spain on Wednesday.

India has finished second in their group with three points, having handed defeats to Iceland, Australia and Slovenia.

They only registered losses to table toppers China, the most successful team in the tournament with 13 titles. The Indian team will be playing playoff matches against second-placed teams from other groups for the best possible finish in the 9-16 bracket.

In the tie against Slovenia, the mixed double pair of Vignesh Thathineni and Srinidhi Naryanan defeated Ziga Podgoresk and Spela Alic by 21-11, 21-9. Ayush Shetty then won his match against Kevin Lin Lenarcic by 21-5, 21-5 to help his side gain a 2-0 lead in the match. Nicholas Raj and Tushar Suveer followed it with a 21-15, 21-14 win over Anel Hac Gyorkos and Mark Korosa in men's doubles.

With a 14-year-old Unnati Hooda rested from the tie, Rakshita Ramraj defeated Anja Jordan 21-4, 21-4 in the women's singles category. Finally, it was the women's doubles pair Shreya Balaji and Srindhi Naryanan completed the match with a 21-9, 21-6 win over Nika Bedic and Kim Matovic.

India will be playing the second-placed Group A team in their next match, which could be either last year champions Indonesia or Malaysia.

The Indian team finished in 12th place in the 2019 edition of the tournament. Its best showing was a fourth-place finish back in 2008. The championship started in Spain from October 17 and will go on till October 22.