Ayush Shetty and HS Prannoy staged fighting comebacks but it was not enough as India went down 2-3 to China in their final Group A tie of the Thomas Cup Finals on Wednesday.
Things didn’t start off well for the 2022 champions who have already secured a place in the quarterfinals. Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty both lost close matches, putting India 0-2 behind.
With the pressure on, Ayush stepped up. After losing the first game, he made a strong comeback to beat Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15 and keep India in the tie.
However, the second doubles match didn’t go India’s way. Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun lost 17-21, 13-21 to He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, giving China an unbeatable 3-1 lead.
Prannoy then showed great determination, bouncing back from a game down to defeat Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 and reduce the final margin.
Lakshya Sen, who had recently beaten top players on his way to finishing runner-up at the All England Championships, couldn’t repeat that form this time. He lost 19-21, 21-8, 12-21 in the opening singles match.
Satwik and Chirag also fought hard in their doubles match. They saved five match points but eventually went down 13-21, 21-13, 24-26 in a thrilling contest.
Despite the loss, India finished second in Group A and are likely to face Japan, the Group B toppers and 2014 champions, in the quarterfinals.
