Ayush, Prannoy win but India lose 2-3 to China in Thomas Cup Finals

ndia went down 2-3 to China in their final Group A tie of the Thomas Cup Finals, despite fighting comeback wins from Ayush Shetty and HS Prannoy here on Wednesday.

The 2022 champions India, who have already sealed their quarterfinal spot, were on the back foot after Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost close encounters to concede a 0-2 lead.

Under pressure, Ayush delivered, recovering from a game down to beat Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15 in the second singles and reduce the margin.

It came down to the second doubles match but the pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun couldn’t get across He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, losing 17-21 13-21 as China took an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Prannoy then rallied from a game down to beat Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 in the third singles to reduce the margin of the defeat.

Lakshya, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, had beaten world No. 7 Li Shi Feng en route to a runner-up finish at the All-England Championships last month but he could not replicate that form in the decider, going down 19-21 21-8 12-21 in the first singles.

World No. 4 pair of Satwik and Chirag also put up a gallant fight, saving five match points before losing 13-21 21-13 24-26 to Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.

Following the loss, India finished second in Group A and are likely to face 2014 winners Japan in the quarterfinals. Japan topped Group B.

Ayush vs Weng: In the opening game, Ayush stayed in touch early but from 17-17, Weng pulled away, sealing the opening game when the Indian hit the net.