China have beaten India 3-1 in their Thomas Cup quarter final. Defending champions India had come in with a strong lineup but losses in the first two matches dealt a heavy blow in this rematch of the sensational Asian Games final (that China had won 3-2). Lakshya Sen was the lone Indian victor in the tie.
The first game saw Shi Yu Qi, world no. 2, take on HS Prannoy. Prannoy has been struggling with health issues (acid reflux and subsequent weight loss) for the better part of last month, but seemed to have found his groove in the last group stage match against Indonesia (he won, India lost - more on that later). He started superbly against Shi, forcing the pace, and taking the attack to his opponent, winning any rally that got into double digits. He took the first game 21-15 before Shi upped the ante.
Keeping rallies short, Shi went on the front foot and blew Prannoy away in the second 21-11, before continuing that form into the third game and taking it 21-14.
In the second match of the tie, world no. 1 doubles pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang took on world no. 3 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Liang-Wang started the stronger of the two, Liang especially forcing the pace with exceptional smashing from the backcourt, and that helped take the game 21-15. Satwik, especially, wasn't looking 100% in the first game but the Indian duo recovered well, with Chirag's net play forcing the Chinese pair on the backfoot before Satwik's big hits came back to finish points off, and they took the second 21-11.
In the third game, though, Sat-Chi started slowly, ceding a 5-0 lead and while they closed it a bit at intervals it was too much of an advantage to give the world's best team, buoyed by raucous home support. The game ended rather swiftly, 21-12, giving China a 2-0 lead in the tie.
With India's two strongest chances gone, it was up to Lakshya Sen to stop a clean sweep and keep India alive in the tie. It looked a task too much in the first game, as world no. 6 Li Shi Feng flew in with his trademark leap-high smashes that were simply too hot to handle in the first game, which Li took 21-13. In the second, though, Lakshya upped his defensive game and forced error after frustrated error from Li, racing to a 21-8 win.
The third game saw more of the same, with Lakshya keeping rallies alive with remarkable defensive play (which included one lightning quick reflexive push off a Shi kill smash that the Chinese couldn't quite comprehend) and that forced Shi into seeking the margins of the court, which he often didn't find. That, plus assured attacking stroke play from Lakshya saw him take the game 21-14 and the match 2-1.
This forced the tie into a fourth match, where the makeshift pair of Dhruv Kapila and Sai Praneeth took on He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu. With MR Arjun injured, Praneeth was drafted in as Kapila's partner and while the two started brightly, their inexperience started showing after He and Ren got their act together. A close opening period was followed by Chinese domination as they took the first game 21-10, and they followed that up with an identical scoreline in the second to take the match 2-0, and seal the tie 3-1 for China.
Earlier, India's aforementioned loss to Indonesia in the group stage had meant they finished second, and hence faced China in this tough, tough draw. Indonesia, on the hand, won the right to the easier tie, South Korea - whom they will face on May 3.
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