India beats Chinese Taipei 3-0 in Thomas Cup quarters

India advanced to the semifinals of the Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark, on Friday by defeating Chinese Taipei 3-0 in the quarterfinals, with key victories from Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and Ayush Shetty.

In the opening men's singles, Lakshya Sen overcame Chou Tien Chen in an 88-minute thriller, winning 18-21, 22-20, 21-17. After dropping the first game, Sen forced a decider and pulled ahead from 6-6 with precise crosscourt smashes and net control, securing match point at 19-17 before closing with a baseline half-smash. The victory gave India a 1-0 lead and marked a turnaround for Sen, who had lost close three-game matches earlier in the tournament to Viktor Lai of Canada and Li Shifeng of China.

The top doubles pair of Rankireddy and Shetty then extended the advantage to 2-0, beating Wang Chi-Lin and Hsiang Chieh Chiu 22-20, 19-21, 21-12. The Indians rallied from a slow start in the first game, claiming it on a wide return, lost a tight second despite strong net play, and dominated the decider with sharp returns and smashes to lead 11-5 at the interval and finish at 21-12. This performance showed improved finishing after a group-stage loss to...