Isharani Baruah and Anmol Kharb shone bright as the Indian women's team entered the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup badminton tournament with a lopsided 4-1 win over Singapore in the second tie of group A, here on Sunday.
Asian champions India, who had defeated Canada 4-1 in the opening tie, produced another fine show as they recovered from the opening match loss of Ashmita Chaliha and went on to win the rest of the contests with ease to come up trumps.
It turned out to be a fine weekend for the young and inexperienced Indian side who were missing the big guns, but they displayed their skill and temperament at the big stage to win two out of two ties.
China blanked Canada 3-0 in another group A match and the result was enough for both India and their Asian neighbours to seal the quarterfinal spot.
With the twin victories, India are now placed in the second position behind China in Group A. The two teams will clash on Tuesday in their final group match to decide the top spot.
The 53rd-ranked Chaliha, who had outwitted Canada's Michelle Li on Saturday, found the going tough against world No. 18 Yeo Jia Min on Sunday, going down 15-21, 18-21.
National champions Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, ranked 67, then brought India back with a 21-15, 21-16 win over Xiao En Heng and Jin Yu Jia in the first women's doubles.
Isharani, ranked 83rd, went on to double India's lead by claiming a 21-13, 21-16 win over Insyirah Khan in the second singles.
