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

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 winners and defending champions, beat Australia 5-0. The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the quarterfinals. Indian women’s team will face Denmark in their opening match of the Uber Cup later in the day.

The Lakshya vs Lai tie turned into another energy-sapping contest, reminiscent of his All England semifinal, with the two engaging in long, draining rallies. Lakshya looked in control early, dictating the pace with precise net play and sharp smashes to dominate the opening exchanges. Lai, however, began to find his rhythm late and cruised to an easy win.

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