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India lose 2-3 to China in Thomas Cup Group A, despite wins by Ayush Shetty and H S Prannoy, finish second in group and likely face Japan in quarterfinals.
India lose 2-3 to China in Thomas Cup (X/BAI)
India suffered a narrow 2-3 defeat to the China in their final Group A clash at the Thomas Cup Finals on Wednesday, despite spirited comeback victories from Ayush Shetty and HS Prannoy.
Having already secured qualification for the quarterfinals, India finished second in the group after their closely fought tie.
China 3-2 India
| Match | Caegory | China | India | Score | Duration | Winner |
| 1 | Singles 1 | Li SF | Lakshya Sen | 21-19, 8-21, 21-12 | 01:14 | China |
| 2 | Doubles 1 | Liang W K / Wang C | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty | 21-13, 13-21, 26-24 | 01:07 | China |
| 3 | Singles 2 | Weng H Y | Ayush Shetty | 21-17, 13-21, 15-21 | 01:10 | India |
| 4 | Doubles 2 | He J T / Ren X Y | H. Amsakarunan / M. Arjun | 21-17, 21-13 | 00:35 | China |
| 5 | Singles 3 | Lu G Z | H. S. Prannoy | 22-20, 19-21, 11-21 | 01:11 | India |
India fell behind early after defeats for Lakshya Sen in the opening singles and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who pushed their opponents hard before losing in a thrilling contest. These early setbacks handed China a 2-0 lead and put India under immediate pressure.
Ayush then produced a determined fightback in the second singles, overturning a one-game deficit to defeat Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15.
“I think I really enjoyed that. It was really good. It’s my first Thomas Cup. The goal was to win. But yeah, unfortunately it was two close games. But happy to get the point for the team,” he said.
“The josh is really high. I mean, we really believe that we can go all the way. I think the team believes, I believe it. I think we can do it.”
However, China regained control in the second doubles, where He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu defeated Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun in straight games to seal the tie.
Prannoy ensured a strong finish for India, rallying from a game down to overcome Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 in the final singles. Despite the loss, India’s resilience was evident, and they now turn their focus to a likely quarterfinal clash against the Japan men’s national badminton team, who topped Group B.
(With inputs from Agencies)
April 30, 2026, 08:45 IST
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