File photo of B Sai Praneeth.
The Indian men's badminton team hammered Tahiti 5-0 in a Group C match to enter the quarterfinals of the ongoing Thomas Cup in Aarhus (Denmark) for the first time since 2010.
It was a second straight 5-0 win for India, the team having beaten the Netherlands with an identical margin on Sunday. Tuesday's win over the island nation ensured India's finish in top-two in the four-team Group C. India will take on traditional powerhouse China in the final match on Wednesday.
B Sai Praneeth began the proceedings with a 21-5 21-6 win over Louis Beaubois in the just 23 minutes in the opening singles.
Sameer Verma made it 2-0 with an easy 21-12 21-12 victory over Remi Rossi in 41 minutes. Kiran George sealed the tie for India with a 21-4 21-2 thrashing of Elias Maublanc in the third men's singles that got over in only 15 minutes.
In the inconsequential doubles matches, the pair of Krishna Prasad and Vishnu Vardhan achieved a 21-8 21-7 win in 21 minutes. In the final doubles match of the day, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Maublanc and Heiva Yvonet 21-5 21-3.
It is the first time since 2010 that the Indian men's team has made the quarterfinals of the tournament. Back then, they lost to Indonesia in the quarters. The Indian women's team also reached the Uber Cup quarterfinals after they beat Scotland 3-1 on Tuesday.
