The Indian women threatened but failed to make it count as they sank to a 0-5 loss to China in their final Uber Cup 2026 Group A match to bow out of the tournament in the group stage in Horsens, Denmark, on Monday.
India had come into the contest on the back of a narrow 3-2 loss to Denmark and a 4-1 win over Ukraine and, therefore, needed a victory to stay in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth. The top two teams from the group – China and hosts Denmark – progressed, with India finishing third ahead of Ukraine.
Ace PV Sindhu, 12th in the badminton rankings, pushed world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi to the brink in the opening singles match. The former world champion controlled large parts of the decider and opened up an 18-12 lead, only for Wang Zhiyi to reel off seven straight points and close out a 21-16, 19-21, 21-19 win.
The other two Indian singles players also threatened but fell short against higher-ranked opponents. World No. 38 Isharani Baruah came close in the opening game before going down 22-20, 21-13 to former Olympic champion and fourth-ranked Chen Yufei, while Devika Sihag, ranked 43, lost 19-21, 21-17, 21-10 to China’s world No. 97 Xu Wenjing.
The doubles pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Kavipriya Selvam took the opening game against Luo Xumin and Zhang Shuxian, but lost 10-21, 21-12, 21-19.
In the other doubles match, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra were beaten 21-11, 21-8 by Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning. India have previously won two bronze medals at the Uber Cup, reaching the semifinals in 2014 and 2016.
In the Thomas Cup, the 2022 champions India have already qualified for the quarterfinals with a tie to spare after wins over Canada and Australia, and will face China in their final group match on Wednesday.
