Lakshya Sen of India defeated Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the first men's singles of the Thomas Cup finals to give India a 1-0 lead.
Taking advantage of the pressure his opponent was facing, Lakshya said after the match, "I wasn't worried because I was going to play better end in the last 11 points. I knew I could open up and play. I knew he (Ginting) was under pressure.
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"This is for team. they've been backing me through my bad performances. Not bad... I was playing well but I wasn’t getting the win."
On the match tactics, Lakshya said, "The strategy was to push him back. I could play drives knowing that the shuttle would stay in and then cover the net."
Lakshya had lost every match against a higher-ranked player (Chou Tien Chen, Lee Zii Jia and Viktor Axelsen), leaving India trailing on each occasion. However, Sunday was different.
"I think the pressure in the finals (all the ones he's played in) is same but here you have the whole team backing you. In the closing was really nervous. Trying to overcome with deep breaths. Its really good to play."
Ginting was leading in the first game, but soon lost his lead as Lakshya brought his A game into the next two games.
Ginting gave credit to Lakshya. "After interval, all players struggle. That’s why we have to do good strategy. Lakshya do better than me on the good court. He kept me away from the net," said the Indonesian. "I tried to push and attack first but I played in rush today."
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