Thomas Cup: Lakshya loses, but Ayush Shetty inspires India to 4-1 win vs Canada

Badminton Asia Championships runner-up Ayush Shetty and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered notable wins that gave India an unassailable 4-1 lead against Canada in their opening Group tie of the Thomas Cup Finals on Friday.

The day started with World no. 4 Lakshya Sen’s spirited effort ending in a 18-21, 21-19, 21-10 loss to world No. 13 Victor Lai, giving Canada the lead. However, the double’s pair of Satwik and Chirag levelled the tie with a dominant 21-10 21-11 win over Jonathan Bing Tsan Lai and Kevin Lee.

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