3 min readMumbaiApr 24, 2026 02:23 PM IST
India started horrendously against Canada as Victory Lai put up the expected resistance to Lakshya Sen, and exacted revenge for the All England semifinals defeat. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty levelled the scores 1-1 after defeating Jonathan Bing Tsan Lai and Kevin Lee, 21-10, 21-11 in 29 minutes.
A flashy, fancy backhand pirouette jump flick from Sen landed in the net underwhelmingly midway through first set, and was an early indicator that India might start with a stutter against tricky Canada. The north American team’s first two singles were bound to be dicey for Sen and Ayush Shetty who will face Brian Yang. But Sen had taken his first set lead to take the opener 21-18 using his net drops. However, when Lai pulled back from 14-18 to 18-19, it was apparent, that the compulsive retriever won’t be shrugged off easily.
FILE: Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen in action. (Express Photo | Abhinav Saha)
Sen once again got into the high work rate – low returns style, where he allows games to drift into deciders. The Indian trailed 2-7 in the second and was 7-12 down around the interval. Sen did well to level at 12, but was two steps behind as Lai increased his attacking speed holding onto the lead dearly. Sen scrambled to make it 19-all, but Lai was not to be denied a decider.
ALSO READ | Thomas & Uber Cup 2026: India Preview, Schedule, Squads, Groups, Live Streaming – All You Need To Know
The Indian was nowhere in the third set, sluggish and dragging his feet, and the Canadian had his revenge after losing at Birmingham. Four years ago, India had faced off against a much weaker Canada, with Priyanshu Rajawat downing Lai easily in third singles. But he has since risen to Top 20 and is a formidable opponent.
It is now upto Ayush Shetty, Hari-Arjun and Srikanth to wrap up the tie after Satwik-Chirag were clinical against Lai-Lee. Ayush will take on Yang and hope to settle a score from Swiss Open. Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun are key in the Canada tie against Alexander Ty-Yakura Nyl. Kidambi Srikanth will need to play Joshua Nguyen in third singles, for all possible points.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: