Thomas Cup: Satwik-Chirag, Ayush Shetty star as India down Canada 3-1 in opener

NEW DELHI: India made a strong start to their Thomas Cup campaign, beating Canada 3-1 in their opening group match on Friday.Despite an early setback, the team quickly bounced back with solid performances in both singles and doubles to take control of the tie and seal victory comfortably.India were on the back foot after Lakshya Sen lost a hard-fought match to Victor Lai.But the momentum shifted when the experienced doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stepped in. They dominated their match, winning comfortably and bringing India back into the contest with authority.From there, the younger players ensured India stayed ahead. Ayush Shetty delivered a confident performance, defeating Brian Yang in straight games to give India the lead.Soon after, the doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun wrapped up the tie with a convincing win, making the final match unnecessary.With the result already decided, Kidambi Srikanth was set to play a dead rubber.Meanwhile, attention will also turn to the Indian women’s team, who are scheduled to begin their campaign against Denmark later in the day.