Lakshya Sen Loses Three-Game Thriller As India Trail China 0-1 In Thomas Cup Finals

India suffered an early setback in their Thomas Cup Finals Group A tie against China as Lakshya Sen went down in a hard-fought three-game contest against world No. 7 Li Shi Feng , leaving the team trailing 0-1 on Wednesday.

Lakshya, who had defeated Li en route to a runner-up finish at the All England Championships last month , was unable to replicate that performance this time, losing 19-21, 21-8, 12-21 in a match that saw sharp momentum swings.

The opening game was closely contested, with Lakshya recovering from an early deficit to draw level at 19-19. However, Li held his nerve in the crucial moments to take the first game. In the second game, Lakshya came out strongly, dominating from the start and racing to an 11-2 lead before sealing it comfortably as Li struggled with unforced errors.

The decider, however, tilted in favour of the Chinese shuttler. After Lakshya briefly matched him at 7-7, Li regained control through consistent pressure and forced errors. Despite a short fightback from the Indian at 10-12, Lakshya’s inconsistency in attack allowed Li to pull away and eventually convert the match with a clinical finish.

With India now trailing 0-1 , the focus shifts to the crucial men’s doubles encounter, where world No. 4 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face the world No. 5 Chinese combination of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang .

In the remaining fixtures, Ayush Shetty is scheduled to take on Weng Hong Yang , while the pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will meet He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu .

India will aim to bounce back strongly in the upcoming matches to stay alive in the tie.