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It was a tense morning session at the 2019 Sudirman Cup on Wednesday as four of the five matches finished 3-2.
In Group 1D in Nanning, China, Malaysia edged India to move second in the standings and bounce back from a 5-0 mauling at the hands of China on Sunday. The United States lost their third match from three in Group 2A as they were beaten by Vietnam.
In Group 3A, Australia downed Nepal, but they were prevented from going top of the pool as Ireland beat New Zealand. Meanwhile, in Group 4, Kazakhstan claimed a comfortable 4-1 win over Greenland.
In the afternoon the trend of tight contests continued initially and in Group 1A, Thailand were able to beat Russia 3-2, meaning the Europeans' chances of challenging for the title are over.
Here are the full results from the day's play, along with the fixtures to come on Wednesday:
Tuesday Results
India 2-3 Malaysia
USA 2-3 Vietnam
Australia 3-2 Nepal
Kazakhstan 4-1 Greenland
Ireland 3-2 New Zealand
Thailand 3-2 Russia
Netherlands 2-3 France
Sri Lanka 5-0 Lithuania
Switzerland 5-0 Slovakia
Full results and standings can be found on the tournament's official website.
Wednesday Schedule
Morning Session (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Monday)
China vs. India
Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
Germany vs. Canada
Singapore vs. Israel
Ireland vs. Australia
Afternoon Session (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Indonesia vs. Denmark
Japan vs. Thailand
Switzerland vs. Sri Lanka
Slovakia vs. Lithuania
New Zealand vs. Nepal
Tuesday Recap
India's match with Malaysia was always likely to be a tight encounter given they are the eighth and ninth seeds, respectively, at this year's tournament.
It was also an effective elimination match to see who would go through to the knockouts with second seeds China in the group.
India started well as they took the lead after victory in the mixed doubles. In a thrilling encounter lasting 70 minutes, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa edged SJ Lai and SH Goh 16-21, 21-17, 24-22.
Malaysia bounced back immediately through world No. 20 Lee Zii Jia, who beat No. 13 ranked Sameer Verma 21-13, 21-15 in the men's singles.
A masterclass from PV Sindhu, though, put India 2-1 ahead as she beat Goh Jin Wei 21-12, 21-8 in just 35 minutes in the women's singles.
Then an incredibly tight men's doubles victory for Malaysia set up a deciding rubber.
B Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri saved five match points against Aaron Chia and Teo Ee Yi, but they eventually went down 22-20, 21-19.
It meant the match all rested on the women's doubles clash between Indian pair N Sikki Reddy and Ponnappa, and Malaysian duo Lee Meng Yean and Chow Mei Kuan.
Another close encounter went the way of Malaysia as they sealed a 21-11, 21-19 victory:
India now face a must-win fixture against China on Wednesday.
In the afternoon, the pressure was on Russia as they sought to keep their hopes of progression alive. However, for the second consecutive match they were narrow losers, with Thailand coming out on top.
After the first four rubbers were shared by the two nations, the match was eventually decided by the mixed doubles clash; Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai excelled in it, winning 21-10, 21-11.
BWF provided highlights of the tense game:
Despite their losses, the Badminton Talk Twitter account praised the displays turned in by the Russia team:
In Group 2A, France continued their excellent start to the competition, making it three wins in succession with victory over the Netherlands. They are now secure in the 13th-place playoff.
The two matches in the third tier later in the day were not competitive, as Sri Lanka and Switzerland both whitewashed Lithuania and Slovakia, respectively.
