New Delhi, 24 April (H.S.):

The Indian men’s badminton team has made a strong start to their Thomas Cup campaign, taking a 3–1 advantage over Canada in their opening tie despite a loss by Lakshya Sen.

The match is being held in Førde, Denmark, with Kidambi Srikanth’s contest still pending.

Ayush Shetty, the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy–Chirag Shetty, and the doubles pair of Haritha Haran and M. R. Arjun all won their respective matches, putting India in a commanding position. Ayush Shetty defeated Brian Yang 21–13, 21–17 in straight games, while Satwik–Chirag overcame Jonathan Lai and Kevin Lee 21–10, 21–11, further strengthening India’s lead. Haritha Haran and Arjun then blanked Tyler Alexander Lindeman and Nyl Yakura 21–7, 21–7 to seal the tie in India’s favour.

India’s first setback came when Lakshya Sen lost a hard‑fought opening singles match to Victor Lai, 21–18, 19–21, 10–21, giving Canada an early lead. Nevertheless, India bounced back emphatically with wins across singles and doubles, moving to a 3–1 advantage and booking a firm foothold in the tie, with Srikanth’s match to follow.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar