Birmingham Commonwealth Games: India thrash Pakistan 5-0 in badminton mixed team event

The clash began with a mixed doubles match between the Indian pairing of Machimanda Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy against Muhammad Irfan Saeed and Ghazala Siddique at the National Exhibition Centre.

The Indian duo cruised against their Pakistani opponents to secure a comfortable 21-9, 21-12 victory. The Pakistani pair tried to put up a fight in the second set. However, B Sumeeth Reddy finished the Group A clash with an explosive smash to make it 1-0 for India. 

The next clash was a men's singles match between Kidambi Srikanth and Murad Ali. The 29-year-old Indian dominated Murad Ali throughout the clash to secure a straight-set 21-7 21-12 victory.

After the victory, Kidambi Srikanth said, "We have come here to definitely win the gold. We will set our targets right and at the same time. We are not really thinking about the negative sides of it like whom we are facing in the semifinals or final."

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu then picked up the mantle as the Pakistani squad was no match against the demanding standards set by their Indian opponents.

The 27-year-old Indian shuttler dominated Mahoor Shahzad with her explosive smashes and went into the break with an 11-4 lead. World No. 7 PV Sindhu pushed forth after the break to secure a 21-7, 21-6 victory to make it 3-0 for India.

When talking about the expectation from athletes due to Indo-Pak rivalry, PV Sindhu said, "Expectations will always be there, but it's about giving your best on the court. When I go into the court, it's just the match, me, and how I'm playing. That's all."

In the fourth match, the Pakistani men's doubles pairing of Murad Ali and Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti started aggressively against Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy of India. However, the India duo maintained their nerves to secure a 21-12, 21-9 victory.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand finished off the Indo-Pak clash 5-0 with a comfortable 21-4, 21-5 victory over Mahoor Shahzad and Ghazala Siddique in the women's doubles match.