Badminton: Vietnam loses to India in Thomas Cup

Vietnam suffered its second loss in the Thomas Cup's Preliminary Asian Zone when it was defeated by India in the third round on Feb. 25 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Vietnam suffered its second loss in the Thomas Cup's Preliminary Asian Zone when it was defeated by India in the third round on Feb. 25 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Nguyen Hoang Nam and Pham Cao Hieu managed to both win their first sets in the men's singles but failed to maintain their form.

Nam lost to Parupalli Kashyap 22-20, 10-21, 18-21, while Hieu lost to Bhatt Arvind 21-16, 7-21, 10-21.

In the third and decisive match, relative newcomer Huynh Vinh, who was making his Thomas Cup debut, lost 13-21, 6-21 in just 20 minutes.

In the next round, Vietnam will play Hong Kong, while India face Chinese Taipei.

The Thomas Cup is held every two years. Of the 25 Thomas Cup tournaments held since 1948, only three nations have won the title. Indonesia is the most successful team, having won the tournament 14 times.

The current cup holder, China, which did not begin competing until 1981, have won seven titles, while Malaysia have won four times./.

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