Their women's squad headed into their group stage match against Hong Kong as favourites at the Stadium Sultan Abdul Halim.

Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu gave them the perfect start when she won her singles match 21-12, 21-18 against Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yin.

The match swung dramatically in Hong Kong's favour when they won the first two doubles ties to take a 2-1 lead.

Sindhu and N. Sikki Reddy were forced to hold their nerve in the third doubles match, with the Indian pair ultimately winning 21-15, 15-21, 21-14 against Ng Tsz Yau and Yuen Sin Ying.

Gadde Ruthvika Shivani then came from a game down in her singles match to beat Yeung Sum Yee 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 to give India a dramatic 3-2 win.

Hong Kong will now have to beat top seeds Japan in their second Group W match tomorrow to remain in the tournament.

Chinese Taipei made a strong start in Group X as they swept aside Maldives 5-0, winning each of the matches in straight games.

The result leaves the Maldives requiring an unlikely win over South Korea to stand a chance of progressing to the knock-out stage.

Indonesia recorded a 5-0 win over Singapore in Group Z, with their second match coming against defending champions China tomorrow.

Thailand eased to a 5-0 success against The Philippines in Group Y, with hosts Malaysia securing a 4-1 triumph against Vietnam in the other tie.

Malaysia suffered defeat in their opening match of the men's competition, as they fell to a narrow 3-2 loss to Thailand in Group C.

Chinese Taipei produced a strong performance to beat Myanmar 5-0.

Group A began with Hong Kong beating Singapore 5-0, leaving the beaten side requiring a result against China tomorrow.

There were also 5-0 victories for South Korea and Japan in Group B, as they overcame Nepal and Kazakhstan respectively.

Defending champions Indonesia won 5-0 against Maldives in Group D, before India overcame The Philippines in the other tie.

The Oceania Badminton Championships also began in the city of Hamilton in New Zealand.

The men's team event began with Australia beating Tahiti 4-1, with Remi Rossi securing the latter's only victory at the Eastlink Badminton Stadium.

He also claimed a win against New Zealand, but could not prevent his team from falling to a 3-1 loss.

Both New Zealand and Australia claimed 5-0 wins over Fiji to move to the top of the standings.

The two nations also saw off Fiji and Tahiti by 5-0 scores in both their women’s matches, putting themselves at the top of the standings.

It leaves two matches between Australia and New Zealand as pivotal to deciding the tournament winners.

Both the Asian and Oceania competitions are acting as a qualifier for the Thomas and Uber Cups, the biennial World Championships contested by men's and women’s national teams.