Saina Nehwal [ Images ] suffered a shock defeat to Inthanon Ratchanok, but a determined India [ Images ] rode on P Kashyap and the pair of Jwala Gutta [ Images ] and Ashwini Ponnappa's stunning victories to enter the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup [ Images ], after a 3-2 victory over Thailand in the second match of Group C in Qingdao, China, on Monday.

India, who lost to Chinese Taipie 2-3 in their opener on Sunday, pushed their higher-ranked opponents all the way in the mixed team competition and despite Saina's unexpected loss, cruised to the knock-out stage for the first time since the Sudirman Cup started in 1989.

The world No 43 pair of Rupesh Kumar [ Images ] and Sanave Thomas [ Images ] gave India a positive start after seeing off Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit, ranked 125, 21-13 21-17 in the men's doubles, the first rubber.

But Saina, who is ranked fourth in the world, couldn't make it count as she lost 14-21, 20-22 to world No 18 Inthanon in a 36-minute clash in the women's singles.

Locked 1-1, Kashyap had the uphill task of putting it across world No 6 Ponsana. But the Andhra Pradesh lad didn't disappoint as he notched a stunning 12-21, 21-18, 21-16 victory in 60 minutes to give India a 2-1 lead get back in the hunt.

Inspired by Kashyap's stunning victory, the Commonwealth Games [ Images ] gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, ranked 32, also saw off the challenge from world No 8 Duang Anong Aroonkesorn and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul, winning 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 in the fourth rubber to help India clinch victory convincingly in the end.

In the final rubber, the mixed doubles pair of Pranav Chopra and Prajakta Sawant went down 18-21, 7-21 to the world No 2 combo of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam.

Earlier, Saina, who was stretched by Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ving on Sunday, made a sluggish start and trailed 1-8 and 3-12 before losing the opening game.

The 21-year-old was quicker in the second game and even opened a healthy 12-7 lead but couldn't hold on to it, as Inthanon took the game away to put the Indian camp in despair.

"I had a tough game yesterday and that made me really slow today. But I was still confident I could pull it off today, but I made too many mistakes," Saina said after the match.