CHENNAI: The celebrations were palpable. As soon as Ayush Shetty wrapped up the match against Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei, the members of the men's badminton team raced to the court and laid out their emotions by forming a huddle. Given India's handy lead, they had been anticipating that moment for some time. When it finally arrived, the shuttlers, fully immersed in celebrations, were looking to soak in the moment. Ayush had just confirmed India a bronze medal (at the very least) in the Thomas Cup — considered to be the World Championships in team competition — at Horsens, Denmark. It was pure ecstacy.
Moreover, the shuttlers can now dream bigger. They now have a brighter chance of retracing 2022 exploits, a year they had captured a historic gold.
Ayush, with his win over All England and India Open winner Lin, had helped the team secure a 3-0 victory and a spot in the last-four stage of the premier competition.
Ayush, who has been operating at a different level since the start of Asian Championships, was just too sharp for Lin, who's yet to regain his golden touch after injury.
The 20-year-old from Karnataka was willing to engage in long rallies and executed some fine winners to kill off those rallies, much to the dismay of Lin. Ayush also pulled off some insane returns to frustrate Lin, who gradually ran out of ideas.
In the end, Ayush was the clear winner, wrapping up the contest in 48 minutes. "Ayush was amazing and the boys are doing really well. Lakshya Sen and the doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have also stepped up. This is a massive step and I believe the boys can go all the way and reclaim gold," Sanjay Mishra, BAI general secretary, said.
Lakshya, the first Indian to take the court on the day, survived two match points before going on to overcome Chou Tien Chen, handing the team a vital 1-0 lead in the process.
Despite having the edge for large parts of the opening game, Lakshya was forced to relinquish the lead towards the business end by the 36-year-old Chou, who landed some finely-crafted winners to edge ahead before eventually going on to close out the game with a smash aimed at Lakshya's body.
The momentum was clearly on Chou's side as he raced to a 10-4 lead in the second essay. The odds were against Lakshya then. But the Indian hung on. After a marathon rally, he produced a cross-court smash to get a vital point. Later, he reeled off four straight points to go level before going on to save to couple of match points and take the tie to a decider. The third essay was a tightly-contested affair at the start before Lakshya seized control of the proceedings. Chou, with three straight points towards the death, continued to question Lakshya but in the end, the latter managed to keep his calm and complete a memorable come-from-behind win.
Doubles specialists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also battled hard to beat Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin, posting their third win in four outings in the event so far. They were far from flawless but they regained control in the third and final game to get over the line in a comfortable fashion.
The team will either face Japan or France in the semifinals.
Quarterfinal results: India bt Chinese Taipei 3-0: MS1: Lakshya Sen bt Chou Tien Chen 18-21, 22-20, 21-17. MD1: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty bt Chiu Hsiang Chieh/Wang Chi-Lin 23-21, 19-21, 21-12. MS2: Ayush Shetty bt Lin Chun-yi 21-16, 21-17.