Thomas & Uber Cup Finals: Indian Men Enter Quarterfinals, Women Exit After China Defeat

India experienced contrasting fortunes at the Thomas Cup Finals and Uber Cup Finals, with the men’s team advancing to the quarterfinals while the women’s side crashed out after a 0-5 defeat to China in their final Group A tie.

The men’s team, champions in 2022 , delivered a clinical performance to blank Australia 5-0 and secure a place in the last eight. Lakshya Sen gave India the perfect start with a straight-game win, followed by Ayush Shetty, who dominated his match to extend the lead. The experienced doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the tie, while HS Prannoy and the duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun ensured a flawless sweep.

India and China now occupy the top two spots in the group and will meet next to decide the group topper.

In the women’s competition, India’s campaign ended against a dominant Chinese side, the most successful team in the tournament’s history with 16 titles . India had earlier gone down 2-3 to Denmark before bouncing back with a 4-1 win over Ukraine , but failed to carry that momentum forward.

The tie hinged on the opening singles, where PV Sindhu came agonisingly close to a win against world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi. After forcing a decider, Sindhu surged to an 18-12 lead but could not close out the match, eventually losing 16-21, 21-19, 19-21 after a dramatic comeback by her opponent.

India’s doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra were outclassed by world No. 1 duo Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning. In the second singles, Isharani Baruah showed promise but lost to Olympic champion Chen Yufei, handing China an unassailable 3-0 lead .

Although Treesa Jolly and Kavipriya Selvam fought hard in doubles, and Devika Sihag started strongly in the final singles, India could not avoid a clean sweep.

With the women’s team eliminated, focus now shifts to the men’s side, who will take on China next in a crucial tie.