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It was a tense morning session at the 2019 Sudirman Cup on Wednesday as four of the five matches finished 3-2.
In Group 1D in Nanning, China, Malaysia edged India to move second in the standings and bounce back from a 5-0 mauling at the hands of China on Sunday. The United States lost their third match from three in Group 2A as they were beaten by Vietnam.
In Group 3A, Australia downed Nepal, but they were prevented from going top of the pool as Ireland beat New Zealand. Meanwhile, in Group 4, Kazakhstan claimed a comfortable 4-1 win over Greenland.
In the afternoon the trend of tight contests continued initially and in Group 1A, Thailand were able to beat Russia 3-2, meaning the Europeans' chances of challenging for the title are over.
Here are the full results from the day's play, along with the fixtures to come on Wednesday:
Tuesday Results
India 2-3 Malaysia
USA 2-3 Vietnam
Australia 3-2 Nepal
Kazakhstan 4-1 Greenland
Ireland 3-2 New Zealand
Thailand 3-2 Russia
Netherlands 2-3 France
Sri Lanka 5-0 Lithuania
Switzerland 5-0 Slovakia
Full results and standings can be found on the tournament's official website.
Wednesday Schedule
Morning Session (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Monday)
China vs. India
Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
Germany vs. Canada
Singapore vs. Israel
Ireland vs. Australia
Afternoon Session (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Indonesia vs. Denmark
Japan vs. Thailand
Switzerland vs. Sri Lanka
Slovakia vs. Lithuania
New Zealand vs. Nepal
Tuesday Recap
India's match with Malaysia was always likely to be a tight encounter given they are the eighth and ninth seeds, respectively, at this year's tournament.
It was also an effective elimination match to see who would go through to the knockouts with second seeds China in the group.
India started well as they took the lead after victory in the mixed doubles. In a thrilling encounter lasting 70 minutes, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa edged SJ Lai and SH Goh 16-21, 21-17, 24-22.
Malaysia bounced back immediately through world No. 20 Lee Zii Jia, who beat No. 13 ranked Sameer Verma 21-13, 21-15 in the men's singles.
A masterclass from PV Sindhu, though, put India 2-1 ahead as she beat Goh Jin Wei 21-12, 21-8 in just 35 minutes in the women's singles.
Then an incredibly tight men's doubles victory for Malaysia set up a deciding rubber.
B Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri saved five match points against Aaron Chia and Teo Ee Yi, but they eventually went down 22-20, 21-19.
It meant the match all rested on the women's doubles clash between Indian pair N Sikki Reddy and Ponnappa, and Malaysian duo Lee Meng Yean and Chow Mei Kuan.
Another close encounter went the way of Malaysia as they sealed a 21-11, 21-19 victory:
India now face a must-win fixture against China on Wednesday.
In the afternoon, the pressure was on Russia as they sought to keep their hopes of progression alive. However, for the second consecutive match they were narrow losers, with Thailand coming out on top.
After the first four rubbers were shared by the two nations, the match was eventually decided by the mixed doubles clash; Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai excelled in it, winning 21-10, 21-11.
BWF provided highlights of the tense game:
Despite their losses, the Badminton Talk Twitter account praised the displays turned in by the Russia team:
In Group 2A, France continued their excellent start to the competition, making it three wins in succession with victory over the Netherlands. They are now secure in the 13th-place playoff.
The two matches in the third tier later in the day were not competitive, as Sri Lanka and Switzerland both whitewashed Lithuania and Slovakia, respectively.
World champion Chen Long was crowned Olympic champion in men’s singles badminton on Saturday, as he got the better of Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) in the final.
The world No. 1 Lee came into the match as the favourite, but Chen’s tenacity and refusal to bow out saw him reign supreme.
There was another surprise in the bronze-medal match earlier in the day, as Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen found a way past London 2012 champion Lin Dan to secure third place.
Here’s a look at the full results from the men’s singles medal matches:
| Medal | Score | Matches |
| Gold | Chen Long 2-0 Lee Chong Wei | 21-18, 21-18 |
| Bronze | Viktor Axelsen 2-1 Lin Dan | 15-21, 21-10, 21-17 |
| Gold | China |
| Silver | Malaysia |
| Bronze | Denmark |
In the opening match of the gold-medal clash, Chen took an early lead and got Lee into the kind of rallies he didn’t want to be involved in.
Chen’s reach makes him incredibly difficult to get the better of in long encounters, and the Chinese star was grinding down his opponent brilliantly.
But Lee came roaring back and demonstrated exactly why he’s one of the best in the business, with his smashes proving unplayable. YouTube star Jin Lim was one of many impressed with Lee’s power:
The duo were exchanging blows and keeping close tabs on each other, but at the business end of the match, Chen prevailed.
Two sloppy mistakes from Lee teed up the Chinaman for smashes, and he took full advantage to take the first game 21-18, as ST Sports Desk revealed:
The second game was just as topsy-turvy as the first, with Lee once again struggling to deal with Chen’s impeccable defensive tactics.
The Chinese star found himself 15-11 to the good, which meant it was panic stations for Malaysia’s finest.
He was trying to hit the big shots when they weren’t on in pure desperation, and that allowed Chen to get over the line courtesy of a second 21-18 match win.
The 2-0 victory was nothing more than Chen deserved; he got his tactics absolutely spot on when it mattered most and can now call himself the Olympic champion.
As for Lee, it’s now three lots of Olympics heartbreak on the spin, and he now needs to wait another four years for a shot at redemption.
Carolina Marin took the individual gold in the women's badminton tournament during Friday's 2016 Summer Olympics action in Rio de Janeiro, beating Sindhu Pusarla of India 2-1 in the final.
The 23-year-old already won world titles in 2014 and 2015 and was the favourite for the gold entering the Olympic tournament, but 21-year-old Sindhu didn't make it easy on Marin, making her work for every point.
Japan's Nozomi Okuhara earned the bronze in a walkover win over China's Xuerui Li, who withdrew with an injury. In the men's doubles final, the Chinese duo of Haifeng Fu and Nan Zhang beat Malaysia's Shem Goh V and Wee Kiong Tan in a thriller. Great Britain secured the bronze on Thursday.
Here's a look at Friday's medallists:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Marin, ESP | Sindhu Pusarla, IND | Nozomi Okuhara, JPN |
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Haifeng Fu and Nan Zhang, CHN | 2-1 | Shem Goh V and Wee Kiong Tan, Mal |
From the opening game of the women's singles finals, Sindhu showed the resilience that led her to a shock berth in the final, and it made for a fantastic contest. Marin took an early lead and seemed to be cruising to a 1-0 advantage when she was up by five, but her opponent fought her way back and dragged the match out.
Sindhu eventually crossed the line first, taking the opening game 21-19. Social media was buzzing with pride from Indian fans, including former actress Twinkle Khanna:
The second game played out in similar fashion―once again, Marin took the lead early, overpowering Sindhu with her fast approach to the game. Sindhu again tried a late comeback, scoring five straight points at the end of the game, but this time, the deficit was simply too big, as Marin easily won 21-12.
That set up a decider, and while Marin built a three-point buffer in the opening stages and Sindhu seemed to tire rapidly, the Indian athlete fought back to tie things up at 10-10. Marin took the next four points after long, physical rallies, but her lead didn't seem safe.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra was rooting for his compatriot:
Marin was the fresher of the two players in the final game, however, and Sindhu finally cracked. She soon faced a massive 20-14 deficit, and Marin finished the job two points later. Sports writer Pratap Simha praised the performance of the 21-year-old silver medallist:
The men's doubles final was every bit as exciting, as China and Malaysia split the two games evenly. Goh V and Tan took the first game 21-15, before Fu and Zhang cruised to the second, winning 21-11.
The final game turned into an absolute thriller, however, with both teams barely giving up an inch. China had the advantage in the final points but struggled to put their opponents away, before two long rallies finally went their way, with the final set score being 23-21.
The Indonesian pairing of Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir dominated Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying Wednesday in the Olympic badminton mixed doubles final, 21-14, 21-12, en route to winning gold.
Here is a breakdown of the medal winners, including Tuesday's bronze-medal match between a pair of Chinese teams:
| Gold-Medal Team | Silver-Medal Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze-Medal Team | Fourth-Place Team | Score (Tuesday) |
| Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (INA) | Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying | 21-14, 21-12 |
| Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei (CHN) | Xu Chen/Ma Jin (CHN) | 21-7, 21-11 |
Despite Indonesia's rich history in badminton, Wednesday marked its first Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles.
Natsir previously took silver alongside Nova Widianto in 2008, but her partnership with Ahmad is what finally pushed her over the top.
Despite Indonesia having never won mixed doubles gold prior to the 2016 Summer Games, Natsir and Ahmad entered as the favorites due to their dominance in recent years, as seen in this tweet courtesy of Badminton Indonesia:
Natsir and Ahmad received congratulations from the official Olympic Twitter account, which also tweeted some photos of the dynamic duo in action during their golden performance:
Dutch badminton star Selena Piek praised the Indonesians for their remarkable showing as well:
Malaysia has found itself on the podium in badminton at the Olympics on multiple occasions over the years, but it is still seeking its first gold.
The silver won by Chan and Goh still made history, however, as it was Malaysia's first medal in badminton mixed doubles.
Indonesia handled the underdog team with relative ease, but as Chris Jansing of NBC News pointed out, the gold-medal match still featured some entertaining and awe-inspiring moments:
China and South Korea had previously won every Olympic gold in mixed doubles, but the breakthroughs by Indonesia and Malaysia suggest that more parity will be present in the discipline moving forward.
The Chinese have largely dominated every badminton event in Olympic play since it was introduced into the program in 1992; however, Natsir and Ahmad provided some hope that the overall level of competition is on the rise.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
