Indian eves beat South Africa 5-0, men lose 1-4 to Indonesia

New Delhi: In a sweet-sour day for India, its women`s team trounced South Africa 5-0 but the men`s team suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat at the hands of Indonesia in the Thomas and Uber Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The women team, led by Sania Nehwal, cruised to the win without a blot in the Thomas Cup whereas only Arvind Bhat tasted success from the men`s team in Uber Cup. World number six Saina spanked Kerry-Lee Harrington 21-8, 21-8 in the first women`s singles to put India ahead and then Aditi Muttatkar and Trupti Murgunde scored convincing wins to hand India unassailable 3-0 lead. Aditi thrashed Stacey Doubell 21-5, 21-6, while Trupti tamed Jade Morgan 21-10, 21-9 in 20 in the second and third singles respectively. Shruti Kurian and Aparna Balan then got into the act and swept past Stacey Doubell and Kerry-Lee Harrington 21-13, 21-10 in the women`s doubles match. Later, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Poppanna completed the Indian whitewash with a 21-8, 21-12 win over Michelle Edwards and Jade Morgan in the mixed doubles."It was a very easy day for us. All the matches were easy there was not much of a resistance. The main idea was to test the conditions and get used to the conditions of the stadium and I think it will come handy tomorrow," Jwala said. "The conditions are ok. I felt there was a little drift here and I found it a little difficult to spot the shuttle but it was a easy match so didn`t matter," she added. However, the Thomas cuppers had a pretty tough day in Kuala Lumpur as despite Arvind Bhat`s stunning victory and P Kashyap heart-rendering attempt they couldn`t save India the blushes. World number 33 P Kashyap was given the responsibility of leading India and he almost gave the side a stunning start by winning the first game 21-14 against formidable Taufik Hidayat.But the talismanic Indonesian used his experience to bounce back winning the next two 21-19, 21-18 to quell the Indian charge in a Group D match that last over an hour. "I lost out in experience. I should have nailed him when I had a seven-point lead at 11-4 over Taufik but he used his experience to full use," Kashyap said. "Yes, I am disappointed with the defeat but I am pleased with my game because I gave him a run for his money," he added. Sanave Thomas and Akshay Dewalkar lost 11-21, 13-21 to Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan in just 21 minutes in the second match. PTI