Badminton Asia Team C’ships: Kidambi Srikanth stars in decider as Indian men edge Singapore, women beat Myanmar convincingly

In the women's match, defending champions India cruised against Myanmar with world junior championship silver medallist Tanvi Sharma opening the account with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Thet Htar Thuzar and then the team sweeping all remaining two singles and both the doubles matches.

4 min readFeb 4, 2026 10:30 PM IST

Kidambi Srikanth in action against Singapore during the group stage at the Tsingtao Badminton Asia Team Championships 2026. (Badminton Asia Team Championships)

Gunning to still deliver on the international circuit, former World No 1 Srikanth Kidambi – now India’s No 3 at world No 34 – delivered in the deciding fifth match against Singapore at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, China, on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, India women’s team – defending champions – dominated Myanmar in their opening group stage encounter 5-0. Both teams have assured themselves of a quarterfinal spot at the event, while the top spot in their groups is still up for grabs.

The men’s Group C clash between India and Singapore went down to the wire, with Srikanth coming up with a clinical performance in the third men’s singles against Jia Wei Joel Koh 21-15, 21-16 to ensure that the Indian men’s team avoided a banana peel before taking on favourites Japan in the decisive tie on Thursday.

In what was the toughest contest in the tie, Lakshya Sen went down 21-16, 19-21, 21-16 against former world champion Loh Kean Yew. But Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty restored parity with a 21-10, 21-8 win over Eng Keat Wesley Koh and Junsuke Kubo 21-10, 21-8 and Ayush Shetty then defeated Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-17, 21-15 to give India the lead.

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The second doubles combination of Pruthvi Roy and K Sai Pratheek almost sealed the match for India as they easily won the opening game against Nge Joo Jie and Donovan Willand Wee before going down 21-8, 21-23, 20-22. This meant that Srikanth had to find a way to beat Koh, and the experienced campaigner did that in style.

In the women’s match, defending champions India cruised against Myanmar with world junior championship silver medallist Tanvi Sharma opening the account with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Thet Htar Thuzar and then the team sweeping all remaining two singles and both the doubles matches.

Tanvi Sharma in action against Myanmar during the group stage at the Tsingtao Badminton Asia Team Championships 2026. (Badminton Asia Team Championships)

They will now face Thailand in the second group game on Thursday to decide the group winner. Tanvi, who has come close to beating two top-10 players already this year on the world tour, will take on world No 16 Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a critical opener. Young Rakshitha Sree will also face a stern test against former junior world champion Pitchamon Opatniputh in the second singles tie. India would fancy their chances in both the doubles ties, but also have the insurance of Malvika Bansod playing in the decider against world No 69 Pornpicha Choeikeewong, a matchup where the left-hander on a comeback trail from a long injury layoff would start as favourite.

Results:

Women Group Y: India bt Myanmar 5-0 (Tanvi Sharma bt Thet Htar Thuzar 21-13, 21-16; Rakshitha Sree bt Eaint Chit Phoo 21-12, 21-6; Malvika Bansod bt Lin Lin Htet 21-9, 21-12; Priya Konjengbam/SHruti Mishra bt Su Latt/Thuzar 21-15, 21-16; Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand bt Htet/Phoo 21-8, 21-6)

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Men Group C: India bt Singapore 3-2 (Lakshya Sen lost to Loh Kean Yew 16-21, 21-19, 16-21; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty bt Eng Keat Wesley Koh/Junsuke Kubo 21-10, 21-8; Ayush Shetty bt Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-17, 21-15; Pruthvi Roy/K Sai Pratheek lost to Nge Joo Jie/Donovan Willard Wee 21-8, 21-23, 20-22; Kidambi Srikanth bt Jia Wei Joel Koh 21-15, 21-16