India's shuttlers failed to raise their game when it mattered most and went down to Poland 3-1 in the play-off for promotion to the higher group in the World Mixed Team Badminton championships, for the Sudirman Cup, in Beijing on Friday.
The Indians, who had topped Group 3B with an all-win record, had to defeat Poland to secure a spot in Group 2 in the 2007 edition of the event but their attempt for a maiden entry in the second best bunch of eight teams was halted by the much stronger Polish squad.
According to the rules of the tournament, only top eight teams in Group 1 have a chance of clinching the title while the remaining teams are divided in groups of eight teams each and play for promotion to higher groups.
It was a bad start for the Indians as their mixed doubles pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta failed to make any impression against World No 43 Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiuczyk and went down 12-15, 5-15 in just 31 minutes.
National champion Anup Sridhar was then forced to bite the dust by Przemyslaw Wacha as Poland took a 2-0 lead.
The 42nd-ranked Wacha, who had defeated the Indian in the pre-quarter-finals of the Polish Open last month, needed 39 minutes for a 15-8, 15-12 win.
Trupti Murgunde, shouldering the responsibility of the women's singles in the absence of national champion Aparna Popat, pulled one back as she put behind an indifferent start to beat Kamila Augustyn 8-11, 11-3, 11-3.
Trupti, ranked 76, lost the first game against her opponent, 180-places below her in world rankings, but then got her act together quickly and conceded just six points in the next two to claim the rubber in 47 minutes.
The top Indian doubles pair of Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar looked like building on Trupti's victory and restoring parity as they took a handsome 12-8 lead in the first game.
But the World No 18 pair of Mateusiak and Michael Logosz had different plans as they won the next seven points to pocket the opening game and then warded off some stiff resistance to win the match at 15-12, 15-6 in 37 minutes.
Poland will replace Ukraine in Group 2.
Ukraine lost to Russia 2-3 in the play-offs and would be relegated to Group 3 in the next edition.
Meanwhile, Malaysia defeated Japan to book a berth in the top group for 2007 while Sweden was relegated after losing to Thailand in the play-offs.
Wales was relegated to Group 4 after it lost to Bulgaria 2-3.
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