Thomas & Uber Cup 2026: India Finish Second In Group A After Narrow 3-2 Loss To China

India's men's badminton team finished second in Group A at the Thomas & Uber Cup 2026 in Horsens, Denmark, after a 2-3 loss to defending champions China on Wednesday. Both teams had already secured quarterfinal spots before the group stage clash.

India had earlier beaten Canada and Australia in their group matches. The tie against China decided the group winner. China claimed the top spot with a 3-2 win. Key Indian chances came in the matches of Lakshya Sen and the pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

Thomas & Uber Cup 2026: Late Fightback Falls Short Against China

Lakshya Sen lost the opening singles to former All England champion Li Shi Feng. The scoreline read 19-21, 21-8, 12-21. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then saved five match points but lost 13-21, 21-13, 24-26 to Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang.

Asian Championships silver medallist Ayush Shetty pulled one back for India. He came from a game down to beat world No 15 Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15. HS Prannoy later defeated Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 to close the tie.

The second men's doubles match proved decisive for the group position. Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun could not extend India's fight. They went down 17-21, 13-21 to He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu. That result ended India's hopes of topping Group A.

Match details: India vs China, Group A

Thomas & Uber Cup 2026: Who Will India Face In Quarters?

India now waits for the quarterfinal draw in Horsens. The team will look to carry the positives from wins by Ayush Shetty and H.S. Prannoy. The narrow loss to China underlined the close gap between the two men's squads.