Indonesia sailed through on the first day of the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup in Thailand on Sunday, despite a shaky start from Anthony Ginting.
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The men’s Thomas Cup and women’s Uber Cup see the world’s top 16 nations compete in the Thai capital’s Impact Arena.
World number five Ginting had a bruising run-in with Singaporean men’s singles world champion Loh Kean Yew, who claimed victory 21-13, 21-14.
But compatriot and world number 10 Jonatan Christie steadied the team after winning 21-19, 21-13 against Jason Teh.
“I can play not the best, but I can get a point for the Indonesian team,” Christie said after his game, ahead of the Indonesian team’s 4-1 victory on the first day.
“Today I just tried to play my best in the first match so I can learn from this match for the next match.”
Meanwhile, in no great surprise, India’s beloved star PV Sindhu efficiently defeated Canadian Michelle Li, ending the game in just over half an hour 21-17, 21-10.
Li’s compatriot Brian Yang was similarly dispatched by Taiwan’s Chou Tien-Chen earlier that day, with the men’s world number four swiping a 21-19, 21-12 victory.
Japan’s women’s world number one Akane Yamaguchi — fresh from her victory at the All England Open Badminton Championship earlier this year — battled with Germany’s Yvonne Li before securing a 21-17, 21-19 win.
The Danish women’s team, tipped for success in the group competitions, only scraped through 3-2 after Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt secured their victory by defeating Malaysia’s Myisha Mohd Khairul.
And despite lacking many of their biggest and more established names, Indonesia’s younger women’s side also took the lead to demolish France 5-0.
