India seal quarterfinal spot with win over Kazakhstan in Jr mixed team championship

Team India sealed their quarterfinals spot in the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships with a dominant 2-0 (55-31, 55-21) win over Kazakhstan in their Group C opener in Yatsushiro, Japan, on Saturday.

With the all-important clash against Chinese Taipei to decide the group winner looming, India mixed things up in doubles.

Girls’ doubles pairing of Durga Esha Kandrapu and Keerthy Manchala gave India a strong start with a 11-5 win over Alissa Kuleshova and Diana Namenova.

Puneeth Suresh and Deepti Raj Aditi were then taken the distance by Mustafa Malikzhan and Kuleshova but they managed to eke out a 11-10 win to take the score to 22-15. The Indians then dominated the next three categories to win the first set.

The second set then turned out to be a cakewalk as none of the players conceded more than six points in any of the matches.