India progressed to the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup after a five-year gap on Wednesday despite Indonesia’s stunning 3-2 win against Denmark. The Indians pipped Indonesia on the basis of matches won during the course of the tournament.
Denmark finished on top of the group 1D after winning a total of six games – four against India and two against Indonesia. The Indians booked their place in the last-eight on the back of winning five games to Indonesia’s four.
After a dismal opening in the competition, where they lost 1-4 to Denmark, India bounced back spectacularly against the Indonesians, where they won women’s singles, men’s singles, the mixed doubles and the women’s doubles events to register a comprehensive 4-1 win to keep their qualification hopes alive. India have now set up a meeting with the formidable Chinese, who have been in rampant form during the tournament, trouncing Hong Kong and Thailand by 4-1 and 5-0 margins respectively.
The women’s singles contest, which will be between Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu and Chen Yufei, is expected to be a keenly contested affair. The 19-year-old, ranked World No.13, had stunned Sindhu last month in a three-game encounter in the Malaysia Open.