Corvee Stars in French Victory – Day 1 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

France had the perfect start to their Thomas Cup campaign on the opening day of the TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2018 today, getting the better of India 4-1 in Group A.

In other ties of the opening session, Indonesia blanked 5-0 Canada in Group B of the Thomas Cup, while in the Uber Cup, Japan outclassed Australia 5-0 (Group A) and Chinese Taipei overpowered Hong Kong 4-1.

India, having arrived in Bangkok without their top Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles players, further blunted their attack by not fielding HS Prannoy for the first singles and Sumeeth Reddy/Manu Attri for the second doubles.

However, the Indians started well, with Sai Praneeth dominating Brice Leverdez 21-7 21-18.

Young Indian pair Shlok Ramchandran/Arjun MR have had some promising results recently, but Bastian Kersaudy/Julien Maio capitalised on their experience and shut out the Indians in the first doubles, 21-13 21-16, in just 30 minutes.

At a point apiece, the outcome of the tie weighed heavily on the second singles, with World No.21 Sameer Verma taking on World No.43 Lucas Corvee.

Despite the gulf in rankings, it was the Frenchman (featured image) who looked more assured through the first two games, and with two match points at 20-18 in the second, he looked set to give France the lead. However, Verma stayed stubborn in the face of adversity, and took the match to a third game.

Corvee refused to let the setback faze him, and he maintained his attacking rhythm to outpoint Verma, who eventually fell 21-18 20-22 21-18.

“I faced him a month ago and lost quite a close match,” said Corvee. “So I know his style. I tried to follow the same strategy as last time, but was more aggressive on the important points. I think I was too aggressive at the end of the second and rushed it a bit when I was up two match points. I made some mistakes as I was a bit stressed… it was important to keep fighting in the third set. I knew he would fight until the end even when he was not in a good position.”

Thom Gicquel and Ronan Labar never let their hold on the second doubles slip as they shut out Arun George and Sanyam Shukla 21-10 21-12 to win the tie for France.

Toma Junior Popov wrapped up the tie 4-1 for the French as he edged past teenaged Indian Lakshya Sen 22-20 19-21 21-19 in the closest match of the session.

“It’s a big win as they were our direct opponents for the quarter-finals,” said Labar. “Against China tomorrow we’ll play as best as we can and enjoy the game and then it’s Australia on the last tie, we have to be 100 percent focussed to secure our second place.

“Today was the crucial game for us, we’ve prepared for this for the last two weeks. They might have been without their best players but still it was more difficult than it seemed on paper. They were still favourites. There were some French spectators and we got some support. We’ve been doing well over the last five years and doing well at the European Championships and we reached the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup once so we’ll try to at least reach the quarter-finals again.”

Indonesia had little trouble from Canada in Group B, winning all five matches without dropping a game. Anthony Ginting got them the lead in the opening singles over Jason Anthony Ho-Shue, 21-11 21-18, and Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan made it 2-0 beating Jonathan Bing Tsan Lai/Duncan Yao, 21-8 21-15.

Ihsan Maulana Mustofa won them the tie routing Antonio Li 21-6 21-8 before Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (second doubles) and Firman Abdul Kholik (third singles) clinched their matches with ease.

Uber Cup top seeds Japan also had a comfortable start to their campaign, against Australia in Group A.

Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi ran into a stubborn challenge from Wendy Chen in the opening singles, but once she had pocketed the tie 24-22 21-19, the rest of the Australian resistance melted.

Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota made it 2-0 against Gronya Somerville/Renuga Veeran and Nozomi Okuhara clinched the tie beating Louisa Ma 21-6 21-6.

There were no surprises either in the second doubles or third singles, with Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi and Sayaka Sato respectively ensuring a clean slate for Japan.

Louisa Ma could only marvel at Okuhara’s speed and control: “She’s got a complete game, it was a really good experience to play the World champion,” Ma said. “She’s very assured in her shots and makes no mistakes at all, you really have to go for every point. Her serve’s really high, it’s not something I was used to. She’s very fast and at the net she’s right there, you can’t give her any space. This is my first Uber Cup, this is the biggest team I’ve played. The atmosphere is amazing.”

Hong Kong were combative against Chinese Taipei in Group B, with Cheung Ngan Yi taking World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying to three games before going down 21-18 20-22 21-11.

Ng Wing Yung/Yeung Nga Ting levelled the deficit winning their doubles against Hsu Ya Ching/Wu Ti Jung 14-21 21-10 21-19.

However, Pai Yu Po (second singles), Chen Hsiao Huan/Hu Ling Fang (second doubles) and Chiang Mei Hui (third singles) ensured that Chinese Taipei suffered no further hiccups.

Click here for results

Thomas & Uber Cup News

China’s Young Heroes – Thomas Cup Review

China’s Young Heroes – Thomas Cup Review

13 June 2018
Japan Stamp Supremacy – Uber Cup Review

Japan Stamp Supremacy – Uber Cup Review

8 June 2018
Title No.10 for China – Thomas Cup Final: TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2018

Title No.10 for China – Thomas Cup Final: TOTAL BWF Thomas &...

27 May 2018
Women of the Rising ‘Stun’! – Uber Cup Final: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Women of the Rising ‘Stun’! – Uber Cup Final: TOTAL BWF TUC...

26 May 2018
‘Tongue-Twisters’ Torment Titlists – Thomas Cup Semi-Finals: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

‘Tongue-Twisters’ Torment Titlists – Thomas Cup Semi-Finals: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

25 May 2018
‘Uber’ Achievers! – Uber Cup Semi-finals: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

‘Uber’ Achievers! – Uber Cup Semi-finals: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

25 May 2018
Denmark, Japan into Semis – Day 5 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Denmark, Japan into Semis – Day 5 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF...

24 May 2018
Emotional Win for Thailand – Day 5 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Emotional Win for Thailand – Day 5 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF...

24 May 2018
China, Korea Overcome Jitters – Day 5 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

China, Korea Overcome Jitters – Day 5 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF...

24 May 2018
Jorgensen Delivers – Day 4 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Jorgensen Delivers – Day 4 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals...

23 May 2018
Canada Through to Quarters – Day 4 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Canada Through to Quarters – Day 4 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF...

23 May 2018
China Hold Firm – Day 4 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2018

China Hold Firm – Day 4 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF Thomas...

23 May 2018
Resilient Indonesia – Day 3 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Resilient Indonesia – Day 3 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals...

22 May 2018
Schoolgirl to the Rescue – Day 3 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Schoolgirl to the Rescue – Day 3 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF...

22 May 2018
German Scare for Japan – Day 3 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

German Scare for Japan – Day 3 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF...

22 May 2018
China, Thailand Look Ahead – Day 2 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

China, Thailand Look Ahead – Day 2 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF...

21 May 2018
Indonesia Pass Malaysian Test – Day 2 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Indonesia Pass Malaysian Test – Day 2 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF...

21 May 2018
Debutants Relishing Experience – Day 2 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Debutants Relishing Experience – Day 2 – Session 1: TOTAL BWF TUC...

21 May 2018
Korea Prevails – Day 1 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Korea Prevails – Day 1 – Session 3: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals...

20 May 2018
Japan Start Strong – Day 1 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF TUC Finals 2018

Japan Start Strong – Day 1 – Session 2: TOTAL BWF TUC...

20 May 2018
Banking on Home Support – TUC Finals 2018

Banking on Home Support – TUC Finals 2018

19 May 2018
Defending Champions Confident Despite Setbacks – TUC Finals 2018

Defending Champions Confident Despite Setbacks – TUC Finals 2018

19 May 2018
Honour for Fernandez, Sornprachum and Klutzke

Honour for Fernandez, Sornprachum and Klutzke

19 May 2018
Strong Danish Line-up – Preview: Thomas Cup Squads

Strong Danish Line-up – Preview: Thomas Cup Squads

11 May 2018
Li Xuerui Returns – Preview: Uber Cup Squads

Li Xuerui Returns – Preview: Uber Cup Squads

9 May 2018
Bangkok Beckons!

Bangkok Beckons!

2 May 2018
Indonesia, Japan Start ‘Thomas-Uber’ Action

Indonesia, Japan Start ‘Thomas-Uber’ Action

12 April 2018
Japan in ‘Group of Death’

Japan in ‘Group of Death’

22 March 2018
Hong Kong, France Qualify for TUC 2018

Hong Kong, France Qualify for TUC 2018

20 March 2018
Fitness, Equipment in Focus at World Congress

Fitness, Equipment in Focus at World Congress

4 March 2018
Algeria to Debut in Thomas Cup

Algeria to Debut in Thomas Cup

26 February 2018
Canadian Supremacy – Finals: M&F Pan Am Team Championships 2018

Canadian Supremacy – Finals: M&F Pan Am Team Championships 2018

19 February 2018
Denmark’s Reign Continues – Finals: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships

Denmark’s Reign Continues – Finals: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships

19 February 2018
Peru Go Down Fighting – Day 3: M&F Pan Am Team Continental Championships 2018

Peru Go Down Fighting – Day 3: M&F Pan Am Team Continental...

18 February 2018
Germany in Title Bout – Day 5: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships

Germany in Title Bout – Day 5: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s...

18 February 2018
Jamaica, Peru in Semis – Day 2: M&F Pan Am Continental Team Championships 2018

Jamaica, Peru in Semis – Day 2: M&F Pan Am Continental Team...

17 February 2018
Spain Survive Turkish Challenge – Day 4: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships

Spain Survive Turkish Challenge – Day 4: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s...

16 February 2018
Algeria Make History – Finals: All Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Championships 2018

Algeria Make History – Finals: All Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Championships...

16 February 2018
Tight Wins for Nigeria, Mauritius – Semi-finals: All Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Championships 2018

Tight Wins for Nigeria, Mauritius – Semi-finals: All Africa Men’s & Women’s...

15 February 2018
Poland Ease Past Portugal – Day 2: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships

Poland Ease Past Portugal – Day 2: 2018 European Men’s & Women’s...

15 February 2018
Indonesia, Japan Triumph – Finals: E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships 2018

Indonesia, Japan Triumph – Finals: E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships 2018

12 February 2018
Kholik Stars in Indonesia’s Win – Semi-finals: E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships 2018

Kholik Stars in Indonesia’s Win – Semi-finals: E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships...

10 February 2018
Chinese Taipei Outplay Thailand – Day 2: E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships 2018

Chinese Taipei Outplay Thailand – Day 2: E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships...

8 February 2018
Australia Prevail in Thriller – Victor Oceania Team Championships 2018

Australia Prevail in Thriller – Victor Oceania Team Championships 2018

7 February 2018
Close Win For Thailand – Day 1: E-Plus Badminton Asia Championships 2018

Close Win For Thailand – Day 1: E-Plus Badminton Asia Championships 2018

7 February 2018
Continental Joust for TUC Qualification

Continental Joust for TUC Qualification

2 February 2018
PARTNERS