Thailand fought back to beat India 3-2 yesterday to reach the semi-finals of the Asia Mixed Team Championships 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Thailand will face the winners of the quarter-final between South Korea and Taiwan who were playing later last night.
In the other half of the draw, Japan advanced to the last four after beating Indonesia by the same scoreline. They will next play either China or Malaysia in today's other semi-final.
With the quarter-final locked in a 2-2 tie, Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai won the decisive women's doubles against Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy 15-21, 21-17, 21-7 to seal Thailand's progress in just under an hour.
The mixed doubles team of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Savitree Amitrapai won the first point for Thailand with a tough 23-25, 21-10, 21-10 victory over Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy.
H S Prannoy then pulled level for India after beating Suppanyu Avisinghanon 21-18, 21-15 in the men's singles.
The tie swung in India's favour when Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy combined to beat Kittinupong Kedren and Nipitphon Phaungphaupet 21-19, 21-16.
Pornpawee Chochuwong then revived Thailand's hopes when she battled her way past Rituparna Das 11-21, 21-12, 21-15 before Jongkolphan and Rawinda took the all-important third point for the team in 57 minutes.
Interestingly, India rested two of their best players -- world No.5 PV Sindhu and No.9 Saina Nehwal -- for the tie.
Thailand won all their group matches against hosts Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan.
Meanwhile, former top-ranked Ratchanok Intanon has dropped three spots to No.8 in the world according to the latest rankings published by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday.
Ratchanok, who is currently trying to regain fitness after a long injury lay-off, is set to launch her comeback at the All England Championships next month. The tournament takes place in Birmingham, England, between March 7-12.
Ratchanok has been knocking at the door at the All England Championships for years -- but has never produced a title.
Apart from losing to Danish veteran Tine Baun in the 2013 final, Ratchanok lost to China's Li Xuerui in the last four in 2014. She was forced to pull out of the quarter-final against China's Sun Yu because of cramps the following year and also lost to Carolina Marin, the then world No.1, of Spain at the same stage last year.
Ratchanok last played competitively at the Dubai SuperSeries Finals in December and has been nursing persistent knee injury since.
Ratchanok won three SuperSeries titles in three consecutive weeks last year and briefly held the No.1 ranking. However a combination of injuries and loss of form resulted in the 21-year-old's disappointing second half of 2016.
Ratchanok was also embroiled in a doping controversy before being cleared of any wrongdoing and was allowed to compete in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro last year. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the round of 16, bowing out to Japanese rival Akane Yamaguchi.
"My knee is getting better," Ratchanok said this week. "I'm able to train again. Right now I'm focusing on getting my fitness level back to where it was before all these injuries.
"Getting to the quarter-finals at the All England is the target for me," added Ratchanok. "Then I will try to defend the three SuperSeries titles I won last year in India, Malaysia and Singapore in March and April. I also have to regain my ranking."
Thailand Masters champion Busanan Ongbamrungphan remained at No.12, followed by Porntip Buranaprasertsuk at 13. Another Thai player in the women's singles top 20 is Nitchaon Jindapol at No.17.
World No.11 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk is the only Thai in the top 20 of the men's singles. He became the first Thai male player to win a SuperSeries title at the Denmark Open in October last year.
Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, who reached the final at the Thailand Masters, and Jongkolphan and Rawinda both moved up a spot and into the top 10 of the women's doubles at No.9 and 10 respectively.
Other players who benefited from their fine performance at the Grand Prix Gold tournament in Bangkok last week are Dechapol and Sapsiree. The pair moved up two spots to No.10 in the mixed doubles. Bodin Isara and Savitree, meanwhile, dropped three places to No.13.
In the men's doubles, Bodin and Nipitphon are at 17th.