Home / Sports / Thomas Cup: India Finishes Second After China Loss
Thomas Cup: India Finishes Second After China Loss
1 May
Summary
- India lost 2-3 to China in a close Thomas Cup group match.
- Ayush Shetty and H S Prannoy secured wins for India.
- India will likely face Japan in the quarterfinals.
India went down 2-3 against China in their final Group A tie at the Thomas Cup Finals on Wednesday, ending second in the group despite strong comeback wins from Ayush Shetty and HS Prannoy.
With a quarterfinal spot already secured, India entered the clash aiming to top the group but faced early setbacks. Lakshya Sen lost the opening singles match, and the doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were narrowly beaten after a hard-fought contest, giving China a 2-0 lead.
Ayush Shetty kept India in contention with an impressive comeback in the second singles. After dropping the first game, he recovered to defeat Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15, earning a crucial point for the team.
China, however, sealed the tie in the second doubles match, as He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu defeated Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun in straight games.
HS Prannoy closed the tie on a positive note for India, fighting back from a game down to beat Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 in the final singles match.
Despite the narrow loss, India showed resilience throughout the contest and finished second in Group A. They are now expected to face Japan, the winners of Group B, in the quarterfinals.
