Birmingham Commonwealth Games: India beats South Africa 3-0 to advance to the semifinals of the badminton mixed team event

India advanced to the quarterfinals after winning all three group stage clashes against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.

The clash began with a mixed doubles match between the Indian pairing of B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa against Jared Elliott and Deidre Jordann of South Africa at the National Exhibition Centre.

The Indian pair cruised past the World No. 857 South African pairing to secure a comfortable 21-9, 21-11 victory. The South African duo could not match the Explosive smashes of their more experienced opponents, allowing the Indian pair to make it 1-0 for India. 

The next clash was a men's singles match between World Championship bronze medalist Lakshay Sen and World No. 355 Caden Kakora. The 20-year-old Indian shuttler dominated the proceedings, converting 16 points with his trademark body smash to secure a straight-set 21-5, 21-6 victory.

India went into the third match with a 2-0 lead. Aakarshi Kashyap picked up the mantle in the women's singles event against World No. 147 Johanita Scholtz of South Africa.

Aakarshi Kashyap maintained control throughout the match with her quick movements despite several well plates shots from Johanita Scholtz. She used excellent use of her deceptive tactics to secure a 21-11, 21-16 victory, securing a 3-0 win for India.

India will next lock horns with Singapore in the semifinals of the mixed team Badminton event on August 1. Singapore is aiming to win a medal in Birmingham as they had to return disappointed after losing the bronze medal match 3-0 to England at the 2018 Commonwealth Games despite being one of the top badminton playing nations of the world.

The Singaporean squad will be spearheaded by World No. 9 Loh Kean Yew alongside several other top players, including World No. 19 Yeo Jia Min.