It’s a big day in Horsens as the knockout stages of the Thomas Cup begin. India, the 2022 champions, will face Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals on Friday, May 1. The Lakshya Sen-led Indian side will be aiming to progress beyond the quarter-final stage for the first time since their title four years ago, but Chinese Taipei are far from over the top.
The quarter-final between India and Chinese Taipei is scheduled to start at 1:30 PM IST (10:00 AM local time) at the earliest. Live streaming will be available on JioHotstar while TV coverage will be telecasted on Star Sports.
India were knocked out by China in the quarter-finals of the 2024 edition of the Thomas Cup, but this time the Asian power will be determined to go beyond the last eight stage and make it big in Horsens.
India booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Canada and a dominant 5-0 win against Australia in the group stage. However, they suffered a narrow 2–3 defeat to defending champions China in their final league match.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei lost to Korea during the group stage but still topped their group, which also included Denmark and Sweden. The team led by Chou Tien Chen was on the brink of elimination after losing their first two singles matches against Denmark on Wednesday. However, they staged a strong comeback to overcome the European side 3–2 by winning both their doubles matches and the singles final.
Especially the traditional powers Korea and Indonesia failed to advance out of the group stage as Horsens has already witnessed some major upsets in recent days.
INDIA Vs. CHINESE Taipei (world ranking in parentheses)
- First Singles: Lakshya Sen (11) vs Chou Tien Chen (6)
- First Doubles: Satwiksiraj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (4) vs. Chiu Hsiang Chieh/Wang Chi-lin (14)
- Second Singles: Ayush Shetty (18) vs Lin Chun-yi (8)
- Second Doubles: MR Arjun/Hariharan Amsakarunan (34) Vs. Liu Kuang Heng/Yang Po-hsuan
- Third Singles: Kidambi Srikanth (30) vs Chi Yu-jen (21)
THOMAS CUP QUARTERFINALS: PREDICTION
India have a slight lead ahead of their quarter-final showdown with Chinese Taipei.
Lakshya Sen avoided a meeting with Lin Chun-yi, the India Open and All England champion – a significant factor given that Lakshya has not beaten Lin in five meetings so far, including two heartbreaking losses earlier this year in the India Open and All England finals.
This means that Chou Tien Chen, one of the most experienced players on the circuit, will present a stern test. However, Lakshya can take confidence from having beaten Chou in her last two matches, including last year’s Australian Open semi-final.
Both Lakshya and Chou enter this competition on a losing streak – Lakshya lost to Li Shi Feng of China, while Chou was defeated by Anders Antonsen.
India will rely heavily on the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who have a 2-0 lead over their opponents in this tie. India seem to have the upper hand in the second doubles as well given the impressive performance of Arjun and Amsakarunan in their win against China on Wednesday.
Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, faces a tough task against Lin, who himself suffered a defeat to world No. 41 Magnus Johannesen. It will be interesting to see how the youngster copes with the aggressive left-handed style of his opponent.
India opted not to field HS Prannoy who had won against China earlier in the tournament. Instead, they turned to the composure and experience of Kidambi Srikanth, who could prove crucial if the tie goes far.
– The end
Published on:
May 1, 2026 07:33 IST
