The Indian women’s team qualified for the Uber Cup badminton tournament quarterfinals despite suffering a narrow 2-3 loss to powerhouse Japan in its third and final Group D match, here on Wednesday.
The men’s team, however, continued its dismal run in the Thomas Cup and crashed out after being blanked 0-5 by Indonesia in their third match of Group B.
The Indian men’s team had lost to Thailand and Hong Kong in its last two outings and will return winless from China.
Olympic bronze medallist, Saina defeated World No 5 Nozomi Okuhara 18-21, 6-21.
In the second singles, two-time World Championship bronze medallist, P V Sindhu notched up a 21-11, 21-18 win over World No 11 Akane Yamaguchi to guide India to a 2-0 lead.
However, Jwala Gutta combined with N Sikki Reddy, went down 11-21, 8-21 against World No 1 pair of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in the first women’s doubles.
In the third singles, Ruthvika Shivani went down 7-21, 14-21 against Sayaka Sato.
In the decider, Ashwini Ponnappa paired up with Sindhu but their gallant fight ended with a 21-15, 19-21, 16-21 loss to Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito.