Lakshya Sen revealed how he bounced back to beat Zhou Tienchen in India’s Thomas Cup quarter-final against Chinese Taipei on Friday, May 1. Sen recorded a hard-fought 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 victory after recovering from the match. His win gave India a 1-0 lead, set the tone for a 3-0 triumph and advancement to the semi-finals.
Lakshya admitted that he got off to a shaky start as his opponent played fearlessly and the first set moved quickly. Despite mistakes in subsequent games, he adjusted his thinking and became more active. He decided to attack, control the rally and stay assertive in the closing stages to complete his comeback win.
“It was a really good first set. He was much more fearless in the opening set, while I wasn’t sure whether to attack or defend. The first set went quickly,” Lakshya told reporters.
Thomas Cup 2026 Quarter Final Highlights
“I still made a few mistakes in the second and third games, but I changed my approach. I decided not to wait for things to happen, but to be more proactive, attack more and take control, especially in the closing stages,” added Lakshya.
Lakshya and Chou entered with a 4-4 head-to-head record and the match lived up to expectations with a see-saw battle. Chou saved a break to win the first game, while Sen fought back in the second to save match points. Sen stayed level in the decision to secure the victory.
LAKSHYA, INDIA DOMINATES CHINESE TAIPEI
The comeback of Lakshya, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty gave India a 2-0 lead in the quarter-finals as they defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin 23-11, 19-21, 21-12. The former Asian champions dominated at the net with powerful smashes and dictated the pace throughout. They saved two game points in the opener, narrowly losing the second, but turned up the intensity in the decider to secure their third win in a row.
Ayush Shetty then sealed the tie for India, defeating Lin Chun-yi 21-16, 21-17 in 48 minutes. He recovered from a 10-12 deficit with a seven-point surge to remain undefeated.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
01 May 2026 20:07 IST
