India go down in semis, win bronze medal

It was curtains for India in the mixed event of Badminton Asia Under-19 Youth Championship as impeccable China blanked them 3-0 in the semifinal on Monday. Defending champion China will play Malaysia in a repeat of last year's final.

It was curtains for India in the mixed event of Badminton Asia Under-19 Youth Championship as impeccable China blanked them 3-0 in the semifinal on Monday. Defending champion China will play Malaysia in a repeat of last year's final.

HT Image

This is India's best performance in this event till now. As both losing semifinalists are awarded bronze medals, India will take confidence from the fact that they bettered their previous best - a fifth place finish.

Defeat looked imminent for India, especially after they made three changes to their winning combination. Coach Sanjiv Sachdeva justified the changes. "Most of the players were tired and wanted a rest. The replacements too were equally good and we played well against China too,” was his excuse.