Thomas Cup 2026: India Enter SF With A Thrilling Win Over Chinese Taipei
The Indian
men’s badminton stepped up their game as India beat Chinese Taipei with 3-0
scoreline in the quarterfinals of the prestigious Thomas Cup event played at
Horsens Court 2, Denmark played on 1st May 2026.
Lakshya Sen
stunned Chou Tien Chen in a thrilling three game thriller. The first game saw
both players fighting for each point keeping others guessing. It was a closely
fought affair right from the word go before Sen took a slender 11-9 lead at the
break. After the interval, Indian continued to dominate and put enough pressure
on Chou with 15-10 lead. The experienced Chou fought back strongly with lovely
smashes and held onto his nerves to win first game 21-18.
Chou Tien
Chen began the second game on aggressive note putting Sen under immense
pressure with smashes and drop shots. It was a dominating effort by Chou to
take a 11-5 lead at the break. After the interval, Sen showed great courage and
spirit making life tough for Chou. Trailing by 5 points at one stage, Sen equaled
the score at 18-18 before saving 2 match points to level the scores and then
won with 22-20 scoreline to force into decider.
The third
game began with both players taking alternate points till 6-6. Sen upped his
game putting Chou under immense pressure and took a 11-7 lead at the break.
After the interval, Sen put on excellent display of badminton to keep Chou under
some pressure. Despite some serious fight by the experienced Chou, Sen held
onto his nerves to win third game by 21-17 to give India 1-0 lead.
Satwik/Chirag
Shetty defeated Chiu and Wang in three thrilling games. The first game began on
even keel with both pairs taking alternate points. Satwik/Chirag committed few
unforced errors as Chiu and Wang took a 11-8 lead at the break. After the
break, the Indian pairing fought back strongly with smashes keeping Chinese
Taipei under pressure. The match ebbed and flowed as Chou and Wang had one game
point before Indian pairing held onto their nerves to win by 23-21.
The second
game also began with both pairs fighting for each point. It was a closely
fought affair before Satwik/Chirag took a slender 11-10 lead at the break.
After the interval, there was nothing to separate between these two pairs, but
this time around Chiu and Wang won by 21-19 forcing into a decider.
Satwik/Chirag
began the third game on aggressive note keeping Chinese Taipei pair under
immense pressure with smashes. At the mid-game break, Indian pairing took a
commanding 11-5 lead. After the interval, Satwik/Chirag dominated and won third
game by 21-12 to give India 2-0 lead.
Ayush
Shetty defeated Lin Chun Yi in two straight games. Chun Yi had a perfect start
to the first game putting Ayush under pressure with smashes and not allowing
any space. At the mid-game interval, Lin had a 11-7 lead.
After the
interval, Ayush fought back strongly with 4 successive points to level at
12-12. After that, the 20-year-old Ayush put enough pressure on Chun and made
life tough for his opponent winning the first game by 21-14.
The second
game saw a closely fought affair right from the word go. Both players did not give
an inch to others till 7-7, before Ayush dominated and took 11-8 lead. After
the interval, the Indian kept momentum going with smashes to win by 21-17 and
seal tie 3-0.
Wth this win, Indian team guranteed a bronze medal and would be look to show their class as they will face the winner of Japan and France to be played tonight.
Result of
India vs Chinese Taipei (Quarterfinals Thomas Cup 2026)
1. Lakshya Sen defeated Chou Chen Tien-
18-20, 22-20, 21-17 (Men’s Singles)
2. Satwik/Chirag Shetty defeated
Chiu/Wang- 23-21, 19-21, 21-12 (Men’s Doubles)
3. Ayush Shetty defeated Lin Chun Yi-21-14,
21-17 (Men’s Singles)
India beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 to enter the SF of Thomas Cup 2026
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