Horsens, Apr 29: Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered narrow losses as India trailed 0-2 against China in their final Group A tie of the Thomas Cup Finals here on Wednesday.
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 could not replicate that form in the decider, going down 19-21 21-8 12-21 in the opening singles.
India had hoped to level the tie through the world No. 4 pair of Satwik and Chirag, but the duo squandered chances despite saving five match points, eventually losing 13-21 21-13 24-26 to Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
The onus will now be on Ayush Shetty, runner-up at the Asia Championships earlier this month, to keep India in the contest when he takes on Weng Hong Yang.
In the remaining matches, the doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will face He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, while HS Prannoy will meet Lu Guang Zu.
Lakshya vs Li
Lagging behind 3-6, Lakshya mixed his attack with a cross-court slice and a sharp smash before clawing back as Li went wide. The two traded steep smashes before Li capitalised on a series of weak lifts to move ahead 10-8 and carry a slender advantage into the break.
Lakshya erased the deficit after the interval and edged ahead 14-13, but the contest turned into a tight slugfest with both players locked at 19-19 before Li produced two decisive points to take the opening game.
The second game was a one-way traffic as Lakshya raced to 5-0 and then 11-2, aided by a string of unforced errors from Li. The Indian maintained relentless pressure to force a decider.
In the third game, Lakshya trailed 1-4 but recovered to 7-7. However, Li opened up a cushion at the interval after forcing errors from the Indian.
Lakshya briefly threatened at 10-12 after winning a long rally with a precise cross-court return, but repeated errors on his smashes allowed Li to regain control.
The Chinese shuttler stretched the lead to 17-12 and soon earned eight match points, converting the opportunity with a clinical cross-court smash.
Satwik-Chirag vs Liang-Wang
The Indian pair was level at 8-8 in the opening game before the Chinese surged ahead to 15-10 with aggressive play and superior service control. They earned eight game points and converted after a service error from Satwik.
After the change of sides, Satwik and Chirag flipped the script, racing to 13-6 by targeting awkward placements and forcing errors, especially at the net. They closed out the game comfortably to force a decider.
The third game turned into a roller-coaster, with neither pair giving an inch as they moved neck and neck from 7-7 to 10-10. The Indians edged ahead to 16-12, but Wang’s brilliance and a few errors from Chirag helped China claw back to level terms.
Liang and Wang earned multiple match points but failed to convert, with nerves creeping in at crucial moments. The Indians too faltered under pressure, and after a series of missed opportunities on both sides, the Chinese pair finally sealed the match on their sixth match point when Satwik found the net. (PTI)
