India's challenge at the Thomas Cup Finals, currently underway in Horsens, Denmark, suffered a major setback as Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered defeats; as a result, India is currently trailing China by 0-2.
With the tie now delicately poised, India faces an uphill battle to stay in contention.
Lakshya Sen's challenge denied in opening singles
Lakshya Sen put up a spirited fight in the opening singles but fell short against world No. 7 Li Shi Feng. The Indian shuttler went down 19-21, 21-8, 12-21 in a three-game contest.
After narrowly losing the first game, Sen responded strongly in the second, dominating with aggressive play and forcing errors. However, inconsistency crept into his game in the decider, allowing Li to regain control and seal the match.
The loss handed China an early advantage, putting pressure on the Indian camp.
Satwik-Chirag lose thriller despite a fightback
India’s hopes of leveling the tie rested on the world No. 4 doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The duo showed resilience but eventually lost a gripping encounter against Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
After dropping the first game 13-21, the Indian pair bounced back convincingly to take the second 21-13. The decider turned into a tense battle, with both pairs trading leads and saving multiple match points.
Despite saving five match points, Rankireddy and Shetty were unable to close out the match, eventually losing 24-26 in a nail-biting finish.
Pressure mounts on remaining matches
With India trailing 0-2, the responsibility now shifts to Ayush Shetty to keep the tie alive against Weng Hong Yang.
Further challenges await as the doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun prepare to face China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, while HS Prannoy is set to take on Lu Guang Zu.
Ayush Shetty keeps India's hopes alive
20-year-old Shetty, after dropping the first game, beat Weng Hong Yang by 17-21, 21-13, 21-15 to keep India in contention. Now the final Group-A score stands at 2-1 in favour of China as the focus shifts on HS Prannoy, Amsakarunan and MR Arjun.