India will aim to stay on course for a second title when they face a depleted Japan in the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup Finals here on Friday, in a clash between two former champions. Four years ago, India achieved an unprecedented feat by clinching the Thomas Cup crown — the world team championship of badminton — bringing the sport firmly into focus among the country’s youth.While Japan’s moment of glory came in 2014 when two-time world champion Kento Momota led them to the title, making them only the fourth nation then to win the trophy, in New Delhi.This time, India progressed to the quarterfinals after finishing second in Group A and will face Japan, who, like them, have won the title once.India made a strong start to their campaign with a 4-1 win over Canada, followed by a 5-0 sweep of Australia, before going down 2-3 to China despite a spirited effort.Japan may not be as formidable as China but have quality in singles, led by world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka, a silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships. Beside him, world no. 19 Yushi Tanaka and world no. 20 Koki Watanabe adds depth to their singles line-up.However, Japan have been weakened by the last-minute withdrawal of Yugo Kobayashi, who forms the world No. 8 doubles pair with Takuro Hoki, due to an injury sustained during training.In his absence, world No. 24 pair Kakeru Kumagai and Hiroki Nishi, along with world No. 30 duo Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami, have shared doubles duties.India, on the other hand, have looked in good touch, with both singles and doubles combinations performing well.Young Ayush Shetty has carried forward his form from the Badminton Asia Championships, where he finished runner-up, winning all three of his matches, including victories over Brian Yang and Weng Hong Yang in the second singles.Old warhorses HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth have shared the third singles responsibilities, with the latter producing a fine come-from-behind win over China’s Lu Guang Zu on Wednesday.Prannoy had played a similar role during India’s title-winning campaign in 2022.All England finalist Lakshya Sen, though lost two three-game thrillers, has impressed with his performances and a lot will depend on him when he takes on Naraoka, an opponent whom he has lost six times in the past.The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their opening two matches before narrowly losing to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang. It was their first tournament after Satwik’s return from a shoulder injury, and the close contest is expected to help them ahead of the knockout stage.“This is a great opportunity to reset and come back stronger. If our three singles players click together, and Satwik-Chirag deliver as they can, we have every chance,” former India coach Vimal Kumar told PTI.“Time to regroup, recharge, and go all out.”The second doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun have also won two of their three matches so far and will be keen to help India reach the semifinals.Besides winning the title in 2022, India have won the bronze medal in 1952, 1955 and 1979.
