Badminton: India beats Australia in Thomas Cup, Uber Cup final

Indian men's and women's badminton teams dumped a lowly rated Australia 5-0 and 4-1 respectively on the second day of the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup Final but the road to the quarterfinals still remain a difficult one for India. While Indian women's team, led by Saina Nehwal, notched up a dominating 4-1 win against Australia in the second Group A match of the Uber Cup, the men's team, spearheaded by World No.9 H.S. Prannoy, blanked their Australia counterparts 5-0 in the Thomas Cup Final later in the day. India's qualification for the knockout stage will now depend on Wednesday's match against top seeds and five-time champions Japan, who have fielded a full-strength squad. On the other hand, things still look pretty gloomy for the men's team as they will have to beat heavyweights China on Tuesday to keep quarterfinals hopes alive.