Thomas Cup: India lose to China but reach quarters

Losing two close matches cost India the top spot in Group A as they lost 2-3 to China in the Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark on Wednesday.Despite the defeat in their final round-robin clash and finishing second in the group, India qualified for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals draw will be made after the last group match.While HS Prannoy and Ayush Shetty won, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost from a winning position and Lakshya Sen suffered a three-game loss.The second doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun failed to trouble the Chinese and lost to He Ji Ting and Ren Xian Yu 17-21, 13-21.Lakshya recovered after losing the first but slumped again in the third to lose 19-21, 21-8, 12-21 to Li Shi Feng. Lakshya said that his opponent controlled the net in the third game. Satwik-Chirag were up 18-12 in the decider before they lost to Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 13-21, 21-13, 24-26.With India trailing 0-2, Ayush rallied to defeat Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15. “Enjoyed winning a point for the team. Our goal was to win the contest but, we lost two close games,” said Shetty. Prannoy looked sharp in his 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 victory against Lu Guang Zu.Lakshya and Ayush’s coach-cum-mentor U Vimal Kumar believes India can go all the way. “This is a great opportunity to reset. If our three singles players click together, and Satwik-Chirag deliver, we have every chance,” said Vimal.Result: India lost to China 2-3 (Lakshya Sen lost to Li Shi Feng 19-21, 21-8, 12-21; Satwik/ Chirag lost to Liang Wei Kang/Wang Chang 1321, 21-13, 24-26; Ayush Shetty bt Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15; H Amsakarunan/MR Arjun lost to Ji Ting/Xiang Yu 17-21, 13-21; HS Prannoy bt Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11).