Mixed fortune for Indian shuttlers

Men reach Thomas Cup quarters, women lose to Thailand in Uber Cup World record holder Tirop found dead

The Indian men's badminton team hammered Tahiti 5-0 to enter the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup for the first time since 2010 but the women's team suffered a crushing 0-5 defeat against a strong Thailand in its last group match here. It was the first defeat for Indian women after beating Spain (3-2) and Scotland (41). The women's team has already reached the quarterfinals.

The men's team, on Tuesday, recorded its second straight 5-0 win, having beaten the Netherlands with an identical margin on Sunday. The team is now in last-eight stage and the last time Indian men made the quarterfinals of the tournament, they had lost to Indonesia.

In the Uber Cup, the Indian women's team wrapped up its Group B engagement with a drubbing at the hands of Thailand.

Malvika Bansod lost the opening women's singles 1521 11-21 to Pornpawee Chochowong.

India needed to win the next doubles match but Ashwini Ponappa and Sikki N Reddy went down fighting 16-21 12-21 to Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.

For India to stay alive, it was imperative for Aditi Bhatt to win the next singles match. She fought her heart out but lost 16-21 21-18 15-21 to Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a match that lasted 59 minutes.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand then fought hard before losing 17-21 16-21 to Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.

Tasnim Mir took the court with an aim to avoid a whitewash but lost 19-21 1521 to Supaninda Katethong. Tasnim had a good chance to win the first game as she was leading 17-14 but lost points in a jiffy to let slip advantage.

Meanwhile, Tuesday's win over Tahiti ensured that Indian men's team will finish in top-two, will take on China in the final match on Thursday.

B Sai Praneeth began the proceedings with a 21-5 21-6 win over Louis Beaubois in just 23 minutes in the opening singles.

Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, a two-time world championships bronze medalist, has been found dead at her home, the country's track federation said Wednesday. Athletics Kenya said it was still working to uncover details of the incident but it had been informed of Tirop's death. She was 25. The track federation said she was allegedly stabbed by her husband. Tirop won bronze medals in the women's 10,000 meters at the 2017 and 2019 world championships and finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. Last month, Tirop broke the world record in the women-only 10kilometer road race.