Injured HS Prannoy's absence hurt India as they went down fighting 2-3 against badminton powerhouse China
However, four of her compatriots, including double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu and World Championships silver winner Kidambi Srikanth, progressed to the quarterfinals of their respective events.
The Indian men's team is searching for its maiden medal at the tournament. No Indian men's team has ever reached the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup.
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Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will look to arrest their slump in form when they begin their campaign at the Australia Open badminton tournament in Sydney on Tuesday.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, moved one place to 31st.
With the main draw of the Asian Badminton Championships set to get underway from Wednesday, the struggling Indian shuttlers face an uphill task.
Srikanth said winning for the country was a big motivating factor for the team.
H S Prannoy stunned two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a thrilling 68-minute quarter-final to ensure a medal for India.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Somappa Bommai was quick to felicitate the 20-year-old native of Almora in Uttarkhand who is now based in Bengaluru where he trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
P V Sindhu has made early exits in as many as seven of the 12 BWF World Tour events this year.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who hasn't played any tournament since the Birmingham Games due to an ankle injury, is now world number five after moving up a spot.
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn are Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.
P V Sindhu and H S Prannoy advanced to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament.
India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Monday, October 2.
In the mixed doubles, the Indian duo of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto lost 13-21, 12-21 to the Chinese pair of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the first round.
The Indians, who were also Asian champions, defeated the current world champions in 43 minutes.
Prannoy signs off with maiden World Championships bronze medal after losing semifinal to Vitidsarn
This is the third time this year that Sindhu has been knocked out in the first round of the tournaments she's played.
Fresh from their Korea Open triumph, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to continue their dream run.
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen continued to be the best-placed Indian at number seven while former world no. 1 Kidambi Srikanth gained a rung to the 11th position.
Rankireddy and Shetty won 21-12, 21-16 in a quarterfinal match that lasted 49 minutes.
"She will need to be at her best for next year which will have Asian Games and also the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification, playing about 22 tournaments will be tough, so she is taking extra care,"
Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth sailed into the pre-quarterfinals of their respective singles events after scoring comfortable victories at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen and Saina Nehwal made impressive starts at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament, advancing to the second round of men's and women's singles respectively with contrasting victories in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Indian badminton team created history on Sunday as they lifted the Thomas Cup trophy for the very first time.
He was hailed as the next big thing when he shocked five-time world and two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan in the final of China Open Super Series Premier event, a performance that also held out promise of a medal at the Rio Olympics.
Top Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a straight-game loss to seventh seeded English pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy 17-21, 14-21 in a last-8 match.
The script remained the same in the second game as well, with Sindhu maintaining her firm grip over the proceedings to race to a 6-0 lead in just two minutes.
A former world no. 2, Sindhu has regained her place in the top 5 after three years. The former world champion from Hyderabad resumed her training on Monday after recovering from the injury.
Fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth also jumped two places to sit at the 12th spot, while Lakshya Sen continued to be the best-placed Indian male shuttler at world number 9.
Thomas Cup final: India vs Indonesia
PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth secured straight game wins
Kidambi Srikanth scored a stunning straight-games victory over world No. 4 Lee Zii Jia but Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen suffered a shock defeat in the opening round of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament, in Osaka, on Wednesday.
'The boys did it. First-ever Thomas Cup for India.'
The Birmingham showpiece will be held from July 28 to August 8.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will spearhead the women's challenge in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games while London Olympics bronze winner Saina Nehwal did not expectedly feature in the squads.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu stormed into the women's singles second round at the Swiss Open with a straight-game win over Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in Basel.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is returning from an ankle injury, begins her campaign against former World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the first round of Malaysia Open.
Earlier, the women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy suffered their second successive loss in the event, going down fighting 19-21, 20-22 to Bulgaria's Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva to bow out of contention.
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