Isharani Baruah and Anmol Kharb shone bright as India all but assured its place in the quarter-finals of Uber Cup after beating Singapore 4-1 in the second tie of Group A, in Chengdu, China, on Sunday.
The Asian champions, who defeated Canada 4-1 in the opening tie, produced another good show as they recovered from the opening singles defeat of Ashmita Chaliha and went on to win the rest of the contests.
It turned out to be a fine weekend for the young and inexperienced Indian women’s side who were missing the big guns, but they displayed good skill and temperament on the big stage to make it two out of two wins.
The 53rd-ranked Chaliha, who outwitted Canada's Michelle Li on Saturday, found the going tough against world No 18 Yeo Jia Min and went down 15-21, 18-21.
National champions Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, ranked 67, then brought India back with a 21-15, 21-16 win over Xiao En Heng and Jin Yu Jia in the first women's doubles.
Isharani, ranked 83, went on to double India's lead with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Insyirah Khan in the second singles.
The 64th-ranked pair of Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker then dished out a super performance en route to a 21-8, 21-11 win over Yi Ting Elsa Lai and Zan Michelle as India took an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Rising star Anmol, ranked 258, then sealed the tie with a 21-15, 21-13 win over Lee Xin Megan in the third singles.
With the two victories, India are now placed in second behind China in Group A. The two teams will clash on Tuesday in their final group match to decide the top spot.
China will face Canada later in the day. The outcome will decide the quarter-finals spots for both India and China.
India reached the semi-finals of the Uber Cup thrice, in 1957, 2014 and 2016.
India’s men’s team, the defending Thomas Cup champions, will face England on Monday in their second group C tie.
India defeated Thailand 4-1 in the opening tie.
Results (Uber Cup):
India bt Singapore 4-1 (Ashmita Chaliha lost to Yeo Jia Min 15-21, 18-21; Priya Konjengbam/Shruti Mishra bt Xiao En Heng/Yu Jia Jin 21-15, 21-16; Isharani Baruah bt Insyirah Khan 21-13, 21-16, Simran Singhi/Ritika Thaker bt Lai Yi Ting Elsa and Michelle Zan 21-8, 21-11, Anmol Kharab bt Lee Xin Yi Megan 21-15, 21-13.
