Spain, Portugal assured of quarterfinal spots in UEFA Nations League
Spain ensured it has the chance to defend its UEFA Nations League title after booking a place in the quarterfinals thanks to a 2-1 win away to Denmark in Group 4 on Friday.
India’s campaign at the Madrid Spain Masters badminton tournament concluded in the semi-final stage with B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy’s exit yfrom the mixed doubles competition .
The husband-wife Indian pair lost to the world No. 17 Indonesian team of Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari 21-17, 21-12 in 29 minutes in the BWF Super 300 tournament.
The remainder of the Indian contingent had bowed out earlier. PV Sindhu was ousted in the quarter-finals.
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Sikki Reddy, ranked 41st in the mixed doubles, and Sumeeth Reddy, 66th, were on the back foot early in the first game, having conceded the first four points.
The Indians, however, fought back to draw level at 6-all but were trailing the Indonesians by three points at the mid-game break.
A rally of four points saw Sumeeth and Sikki edge ahead of their opponents and lead 16-15 at one stage.
Rivaldy and Mentari, who won the Spain Masters mixed doubles title in 2021, turned the tables with five straight points and proceeded to take the game.
The second game was tied at 8-8 before the Indonesians broke away with eight straight points and sealed the contest comfortably.
In the quarter-finals, the Indian duo defeated the world No. 22 Indonesian pair of Lisa Ayu Kusumawati and Rehan Kusharjanto in three games.
The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 offers qualifying ranking points to shuttlers for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The qualification window for badminton started on May 1 last year and will end in April.
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