Jammu, May 3 -- The Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had a rare off day against China in the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup as their defence of the title came to an end. While the defeat would no doubt have stung, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise for the duo as they aim to peak for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Satwik and Chirag looked unusually uncomfortable dealing with the varies serves, particularly the tumble serve, of the World No.1 Chinese combo of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. This allowed the Chinese to race to big leads in the opening sets and control proceedings from the start. It was evident the Indians were struggling to gain a foothold in rallies and initiate their usually crisp at...