Defending champions India sealed their berth in the Thomas Cup 2024 quarterfinals with a convincing 5-0 win against England in a Group C match contested in Chengdu on Monday.
India, the reigning champions, easily defeated England 5-0 on Monday in Chengdu in a Group C match to guarantee their spot in the Thomas Cup 2024 quarterfinals. HS Prannoy defeated Harry Huang in a straight-game match, winning 21–15 in each set, to set the tone. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the doubles team, played a tough match against Ben Lane and Sean Vendy but eventually won in three games (21-17, 19-21, 21-15), displaying tenacity and strategic acumen.
India’s victory was essentially sealed when Kidambi Srikanth defeated Nadeem Dalvi in two successive games (21-16, 21-11) to extend the winning run. With scores of 21-17 and 21-19, the second doubles pair, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, defeated Rory Easton and Alex Green to secure the fourth point.
Kiran George overcame Cholan Kayan 21-18, 21-12 to boost his record to 5-0 with another straight-game victory. With this win, India secured their place in the quarterfinals and set up a much-awaited matchup with Indonesia to determine who would finish first in Group C. With both sides having previously advanced past the ‘Group of Death’ to the knockout stages, the forthcoming games carried much more intrigue.
India defeated Thailand 4-1 on Saturday to start their Thomas Cup championship defense. World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn defeated HS Prannoy, the current number one seed in India, in the first singles encounter. There was a glitch, though, when Lakshya Sen gave India the lead and Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy produced thrilling three-game victory to showcase India’s depth. Subsequently, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila’s doubles partnership cemented India’s triumph, with Srikanth Kidambi completing the picture. A young Indian women’s team defeated Singapore on Saturday in the Uber Cup to advance to the knockout round. Here, Shivani Naik goes into further detail on this.
