New Delhi: Saina Nehwal suffered a shock defeat to Inthanon Ratchanok but a determined India rode on P Kashyap and pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa's stunning wins to enter the quarterfinals of the Sudirman Cup with a 3-2 victory over Thailand in the second tie of group C in Qingdao, China on Monday.
India, who lost to Chinese Taipie 2-3 in their opener yesterday, pushed their higher-ranked opponents all the way in the mixed team competition and despite Saina's unexpected loss, cruised to the knock-out stage for the first time since the Sudirman Cup started in 1989.
World number 43 pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas gave India a positive start after seeing off Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit, ranked 125, 21-13 21-17 in the men's doubles in the first rubber.
But Saina, who is ranked fourth in the world, couldn't make it count and lost 14-21 20-22 to world number 18 Inthanon in a 36-minute clash in the women's singles to lose the lead.
Locked 1-1, Kashyap was handed an uphill task of putting across world number six Ponsana and the Andra Pradesh lad didn't disappoint as he notched up a stunning 12-21 21-18 21-16 victory in an hour long clash to bring India back into the hunt, providing a 2-1 lead.
Inspired by Kashyap's stunning win, Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, ranked 32nd, also saw off the challenge from world number eight Duang Anong Aroonkesorn and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 in the fourth rubber to help India clinch the tie convincingly in the end.
In the final rubber, mixed doubles pair of Pranav Chopra and Prajakta Sawant went down 18-21, 7-21 to World number two combo of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam.
Earlier, Saina, who was stretched by Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ving on Sunday, made a sluggish start and trailed 1-8 and then 3-12 before losing the opening game.
The 21-year-old was quicker in the second game and even opened a healthy 12-7 lead but she couldn't hold on to it as Inthanon took the game away to put the Indian camp in despair.
"I had a tough game yesterday and that made me really slow today but I was still confident I can pull it off today but I made too many mistakes," Saina said after the match.
While Saina tumbled, Kashyap raised to the occasion and gave India a glimpse of hope when he saw off Ponsana in a marathon match in the men's singles.
The Indian used his smashes and half smashes with perfection and made his opponent toil hard to bounce back after losing the first game.
In the second, the world number 28 Indian caught up with Ponsana at 6-6 and held his fort to make it 1-1.
With rejuvenated confidence, the Indian opened up a huge 14-6 lead in the third and kept his opponent away to notch up one of the biggest wins of his career.
In the women's doubles, Jwala and Ashwini also raised their game and drew parity with the world number eight Thai pair at 14-14 after lagging 8-13 at one point before sealing the game.
But the Thai roared back in the second game as the Indian pair faltered after moving neck and neck till 11-11.
In the decider, the Indian pair opened up a four-point lead at 9-5 and held their fort.
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