Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: India suffered a narrow 2-3 defeat against China in their final Group A tie of the Thomas Cup Finals on Wednesday, signing off the league stage with a loss despite already securing a quarterfinal berth.The 2022 champions found themselves under pressure early after Lakshya Sen and the star doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost their respective matches, handing China a 2-0 lead.Lakshya, who had impressed in recent tournaments, went down 19-21, 21-8, 12-21 to Li Shi Feng in the opening singles.The doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag fought valiantly, saving five match points, but eventually lost a thrilling contest 13-21, 21-13, 24-26 to Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.Ayush, Prannoy lead fighting comebackWith the tie on the line, youngster Ayush Shetty stepped up in style. After losing the first game, he bounced back strongly to defeat Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15.“I really enjoyed that… it’s my first Thomas Cup. The goal was to win… happy to get the point for the team,” Ayush said, expressing confidence in India’s title chances.However, India’s hopes took a hit in the second doubles, where Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun went down 17-21, 13-21 to He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, sealing the tie for China at 3-1.In the final match, HS Prannoy produced a resilient performance, rallying from a game down to beat Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11, reducing the margin of defeat.“The josh is really high… we believe we can go all the way,” he said, underlining the team’s confidence ahead of the knockouts.Focus shifts to quarterfinalsDespite the loss, India finished second in Group A and progressed to the quarterfinals, where they are likely to face 2014 champions Japan.While the defeat exposed areas to improve, India’s fighting spirit — showcased by Ayush and Prannoy — offers hope as they gear up for the business end of the tournament.
