India fail to qualify for
Thomas Cup finals
India's bid to qualify for the finals of the Thomas Cup badminton ended in
defeat in Eindhoven, the Netherlands), on Sunday as Sweden clinched a play-off victory.
India, who had upset the form book on Friday by
eliminating England from the group phase, lost the third place
match 3-1 against the powerful Scandinavians.
Rasmus Wengberg had put Sweden on the way to victory with
a 7-4, 1-7, 7-1, 7-1 win over Abhinn Shyam Gupta in the opening
rubber.
India's doubles duo Thomas Sanave and V Diju gave their
side the hope in the next match of the tie, forging into a
two-game lead against George Rimarcdi and Henrik Andersson
without losing a point.
Just as a levelling rubber seemed a formality however the
Indians lost concentration, allowing the Swedes to fight back
for a 0-7, 0-7, 8-7, 8-7, 7-1 win.
India's singles star Chetan Anand made it 2-1 in the next
rubber, beating Per Henrik Croona 8-7, 7-3, 7-2 with a gutsy
display but Frederik Bergstrom and Rasmus Wengberg wrapped up
the win for Sweden.
In today's final to settle first place in the European
qualifiers, top seeds Denmark proved too powerful for Germany,
winning 3-0 with ease.
The Europe zone qualifiers for the Uber Cup are to be
played later today.