Lakshya Sen endured a tough loss, but Ayush Shetty and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered wins as 2022 champion India notched up a commanding 4-1 win over Canada in its opening Group A tie of the Thomas Cup Finals in Horsens on Friday.

However, there was disappointment in store in the women’s section as India lost 2-3 to host Denmark in the opening Group A tie of the Uber Cup Finals.

After Lakshya’s spirited effort ended in an 18-21, 21-19, 21-10 loss to world No. 13 Victor Lai, World No. 4 Satwik and Chirag levelled the tie with a dominant 21-10, 21-11 win over Jonathan Bing Tsan Lai and Kevin Lee.

The 20-year-old Ayush, runner-up at the recent Asia Championships, then outwitted world No. 33 Brian Yang 21-13, 21-17 in 39 minutes to hand India a 2-1 lead.

The second doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun sealed the tie for India with a convincing 21-7 21-15 victory over Ty Alexander Lindeman and Nyl Yakura.

Kidambi Srikanth then outsmarted world No. 77 Joshua Nguyen 21-17, 21-12 in the inconsequential fifth match as India wrapped up the match 4-1 to be placed second in the table behind China.

China, 11-time winner and defending champion, beat Australia 5-0.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the quarterfinals.

“Really happy with the way we played today… although we were down 0-1, we’re happy that we could get a point for the team and make it 1-0.

“We don’t want to keep so many expectations; we just want to enjoy as much as possible. It’s a long tournament; we have a three-day break now. There are new people who have come in; they are young, and everyone is in good spirits,” Satwik told reporters.

“We just want to have some good memories in 10 days because you don’t get time. It’s a team event; let’s have some fun. We’re taking one day at a time.”

In the Uber Cup, India lost 2-3 to host Denmark in their opening tie of Group A.

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu put India ahead with a tough 21-13, 18-21, 21-17 win over Denmark’s World No. 21 Line Christophersen.

World No. 3 Unnati Hooda then produced a late fightback and saved multiple match points before going down 12-21, 23-25 against world No. 26 Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt, who won a silver medal at the 2026 European Badminton Championships early this month.

Tanvi Sharma went down to Amalie Schulz 21-19, 16-21, 16-21 in a 54-minute contest after taking the opening game as India trailed 1-2.

In their must-win rubber, the women’s doubles pair of Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam missed two match points before losing the decider to Amalie Cecilie Kudsk and Mette Werge 17-21, 21-11, 21-23 in a one-hour and 15-minute battle.

In the final inconsequential rubber, Tanisha Crasto and PV registered a win after Alexandra Boje and Christine Busch conceded the match in the second game.

The Indian pair had taken the first game 21-19 and were trailing 14-17 when the Danish duo retired after 36 minutes of play.

Lakshya vs Lai

It turned into another energy-sapping contest, reminiscent of the All England semifinal, with Lakshya and Lai locked in long, draining rallies.

Lakshya dictated early with sharp net play and smashes, doing enough to take the opening game despite Lai closing in from 14-18.

Lai hit back after the change of ends, racing to 7-2 and unsettling the Indian with clever deception and changes of pace to lead 11-7.

A 45-shot rally sparked a brief comeback as Lakshya drew level at 12-12, but Lai held firm in the closing stages, edging a tight finish after 19-19 with a net winner and a composed duel.

The decider was one-sided as Lai surged to 4-1 and 10-3, carrying the momentum to 11-5 at the break. Lakshya struggled to keep up as the Canadian mixed precision with power to move to 16-8 before sealing the match when the Indian went long, avenging his Birmingham loss.

India next faces Australia and China on Monday and Wednesday.

Sindhu vs Christophersen

Sindhu started slowly before cruising through the opening game but was pushed into a decider by Christophersen.

The Dane raised her intensity in the second, matching Sindhu stroke for stroke from 6-6 to 11-11 and edging ahead 16-15 before forcing the decider as errors crept into the Indian’s game.

Backed by chants from the Indian camp, Sindhu relied on her deception and angles to stay in the contest.

Christophersen mixed pace well early in the third to lead 4-3, but Sindhu responded with three quick points to go 9-8 up and held a narrow edge at the interval.

The Dane again moved ahead 15-12 but faltered with errors as Sindhu drew level at 15-15.

In a nervy finish, Sindhu held her composure, winning six of the last seven points to move 18-16 ahead before finishing with a body smash and a down-the-line winner to seal the match.

Published on Apr 24, 2026