India sealed a place in the Thomas Cup Finals quarterfinals with a commanding 5-0 sweep of Australia in a Group A tie here on Monday.
India and China occupy the top spots in the group. The 2022 champions had opened with a 4-1 win over Canada, while China blanked Australia 5-0 and beat Canada 4-1 earlier in the day. The two sides will clash in their final group tie on Wednesday to decide the group topper.
Paris Olympian and Commonweal Games champion Lakshya Sen set the tone with a 21-14, 21-16 win over Ephraim Stephen Sam to hand India an early lead. US Open champion Ayush Shetty, who recently finished runner-up at the Badminton Asia Championships, doubled the advantage with a dominant 21-8, 21-6 victory over Shrey Dhand.
India’s top doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the Asian Games champions, made it 3-0, defeating Rizky Hidayat and Jack Yu 21-14, 21-16 to clinch the tie.
HS Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Championships and Asian Games, extended the lead with a 21-11, 21-17 win over Rishi Honda Boopathy in under 30 minutes.
In the second doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun outplayed Andika Ramadiansyah and Ephraim Stephen Sam 21-12, 21-10 as India completed a flawless outing without dropping a match.
Also read: India beat Canada 4-1 in Thomas Cup finals opener
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