Confused start, strong finish: How Lakshya Sen rallied back to beat Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya Sen revealed how he bounced back to beat Chou Tien-chen in India’s Thomas Cup quarterfinal against Chinese Taipei on Friday, May 1. Sen registered a hard-fought 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 victory after recovering from a game down. His win gave India a 1-0 lead, setting the tone for a 3-0 triumph and a place in the semifinals.

Lakshya admitted he started uncertain as his opponent played fearlessly and the first set moved quickly. Despite making errors in the next games, he adjusted his mindset, becoming more proactive. He chose to attack, control the rallies, and stay assertive in the closing stages to complete his comeback win.

“It was a really good first set. He was much more fearless in the opening set, while I was slightly unsure whether to attack or defend. The first set went by quickly,” Lakshya told the reporters

Thomas Cup 2026 Quarterfinals Highlights

“In the second and third games, I still made a few errors, but I changed my approach. I decided not to wait for things to happen, but to be more proactive, attack more, and take control, especially in the closing stages,” Lakshya added.

Lakshya and Chou entered with a 4-4 head-to-head record, and the match lived up to expectations with a seesaw battle. Chou saved deficits to win the first game, while Sen fought back in the second, saving match points. Sen stayed composed in the decider to secure victory.

LAKSHYA, INDIA DOMINATE CHINESE TAIPEI

After Lakshya’s comeback win, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty put India in a commanding 2-0 lead in the quarterfinal, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin 23-11, 19-21, 21-12. The former Asian champions dominated at the net with powerful smashes and dictated the pace throughout. They saved two game points in the opening game, narrowly lost the second, but lifted their intensity in the decider to secure a third consecutive win over the pair.

Ayush Shetty then sealed the tie for India, beating Lin Chun-yi 21-16, 21-17 in 48 minutes. He recovered from a 10-12 deficit with a seven-point surge and remained unbeaten across the tie.