Lakshya can Sen-se a better show by India this time

Yummy: Lakshya Sen ready to savour a meal after a training session in Bangkok.

ALL-ENGLAND runners-up Lakshya Sen believes India have a shot at making it big in the Thomas Cup Finals.

India are in Group C with Taiwan, Germany and Canada and they can ride on the strength of their singles players to emerge as the group champions and avoid seeded teams in the quarter-finals.

World No. 9 Lakshya spearheads the team, followed by the experienced K. Srikanth and H. S. Prannoy in the singles while they have world No. 9 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty as their top doubles pair.

The 20-year-old Lakshya is just happy to be back in Bangkok.

“This is my second Thomas Cup. I was in Bangkok four years ago and managed to steal a game from Lin Dan of China in the group stage as the third singles,” said the Indian.

India did not clear the group stage in 2014 and Lakshya did not feature in the team that reached the quarter-finals at last year’s edition in Aarhus, Denmark.

“We have a balanced team and I believe India are the underdogs in this edition. We have a good chance to enter the quarter-finals, but we hope to go one step further,” he added.

India’s team have the depth and it will be a folly for anyone to underestimate their challenge this year.