Thomas Cup 2024: India’s title defence ends with 3-1 loss to China in quarterfinals
India’s Thomas Cup title defence ended on Thursday after a 3-1 loss to China in the quarterfinals in Chengdu.
H.S. Prannoy went down 21-15, 11-21, 14-21 against Shi Yu Qi in the first singles match which lasted 66 minutes. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, former World No. 1 men’s doubles pair, took the current top-ranked duo of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang to three game before losing 15-21, 21-11, 12-21.
Lakshya Sen opened India’s account with a come-from-behind 13-21, 21-8, 21-14 win over Li Shi Feng in the second singles match.
However, in the second and must-win men’s doubles match, the makeshift pair of Dhruv Kapila and K. Sai Pratheek lost 10-21, 10-21 to He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women’s team lost 3-0 to Japan in the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup.