India and China were assured of a quarterfinal berth and the face-off on Wednesday was to determine the group winners, which China ultimately won 3-2

Indian men’s team finished second in Group A after their spirited effort was not enough to beat defending champions China in their last round robin clash of the Thomas & Uber Cup 2026 in Horsens, Denmark on Wednesday.

Having beaten Canada and Australia in their earlier group clashes, both India and China were assured of a quarterfinal berth and the face-off on Wednesday was to determine the group winners, which China ultimately won 3-2.

Lakshya Sen and men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had their chances but they faltered in the decider.

Sen went down 19-21, 21-8, 12-21 against former All England champion Li Shi Feng while Satwik-Chirag saved five match points before going down 13-21, 21-13, 24-26 against Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang.

Asian Championships silver medallist Ayush Shetty then put India on the scoresheet when he fought back from a game down to beat world no 15 Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15.

However, the second men’s doubles pairing of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun could not build on the momentum and went down 17-21, 13-21 against He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu to end India’s chances of topping the group.

HS Prannoy then ended the day on a winning note for India by beating Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 as they await the quarterfinal draw.

Result: Men: India lose to China 2-3 (Lakshya Sen lost to Li Shi Feng 19-21, 21-8, 12-21; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty lost to Liang Wei Kang/Wang Chang 13-21, 21-13, 24-26; Ayush Shetty bt Weng Hong Yang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15; Hariharan Amsakarunan/MR Arjun lost to He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu 17-21, 13-21; HS Prannoy vs Lu Guang Zu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11).

EOM