China edges India 3-2 to top Group A at Thomas Cup ahead of last eight

China edged India 3-2 on Wednesday to finish on top of Group A at the BWF Thomas Cup, keeping its title defense firmly on track at the badminton competition in Horsens, Denmark.

With the PRC's top men's singles player Shi Yuqi rested, Li Shifeng stepped up to beat Lakshya Sen 21-19, 8-21, 21-12, giving China an early 1-0 lead.

The ace doubles pairing of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang was then pushed all the way by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. After splitting the first two games, the Chinese duo held its nerve in a tense decider, saving several pressure points to prevail 26-24 and extend the team's overall edge to 2-0.

India hit back through Ayush Shetty, who rallied past Weng Hongyang 17-21, 21-13, 21-15, keeping the showdown alive.

He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu restored China's cushion, however, with a composed 21-17, 21-13 win over Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun, sealing the overall victory.

The Indians took the final rubber, with H.S. Prannoy defeating Lu Guangzu 20-22, 21-19, 21-11, but China easily sailed into the quarterfinals after clinching first place in Group A.

Earlier on the women's side, the draw for the Uber Cup quarterfinals was completed, pitting China against Malaysia. The other contests will see host nation Denmark face Indonesia while Japan takes on Thailand and Chinese Taipei goes up against the Republic of Korea.