Indian men’s doubles pair Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah lost their quarterfinal match against China’s Liang Jingkun and Wang Chuqin in the ongoing China Smash 2024, in Beijing, on Thursday.
The Indian duo lost 1-3 (5-11, 2-11, 11-8, 7-11) and with their exit, the Indian challenge at the China Smash comes to an end.
Coming into the game as heavy favorites and with the crowd support behind them, Jingkun and Chuquin started brilliantly, completely dominating the Indians and raced to a 2-0 lead, winning game one 11-5 and game two as well 11-2.
Just when everyone thought the Indians would be wrapped up in straight sets, Manush and Manav stood tall in game three and produced a resilient fight and showed much more aggression and tenacity.
Their efforts were rewarded as they won the third game 11-8 and breathed life into the match by making it 1-2.
The fourth game was fought along similar lines and at one point, the Indians had a strong 7-5 lead, well poised to win the fourth game and take the game to a decider.
But the Chinese were not to be outdone by, as they took went on a six-point streak and won game four and by extension, the match.
They will face French brothers Felix Lebrun and Alexis Lebrun in the semi-finals of the China Smash 2024.