Thomas Cup 2026: India loses semi-final; wins bronze – Highlights
Check out all the Highlights from the 2026 Thomas Cup Semi-final between India and France.
Indian men's badminton team celebrate after winning the 2026 Thomas Cup quarter-finals (Photo credit: Badminton Photo/BWF)
2026 Thomas Cup Highights: The Indian men's badminton team clinched a bronze medal at the 2026 Thomas Cup, losing their semi-final 0-3 to France in Horsens, Denmark on Saturday.
All three of Ayush Shetty, Kidambi Srikanth, and HS Prannoy lost their respective singles matches in straight games as India failed to advance to the final.
While Shetty went down 11-21, 9-21 to Christo Popov, Srikanth lost out 16-21, 18-21 to Alex Lanier.
Prannoy then surrendered 19-21, 16-21 to Toma Junior Popov as France reached their first Thomas Cup final.
The men's doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan-Arjun MR and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty weren't even called into action.
Earlier, Lakshya Sen was ruled out of the semi-final after having picked up an elbow injury during the quarter-final match.
Highlights:
That's all we have from the 2026 Thomas Cup semi-final between India and France.
It also brings curtains down on a fairly successful Thomas and Uber Cup campaign. Though the women led by PV Sindhu failed to get past the group stage in Uber Cup, the men will have something to show for.
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It was always going to be an uphill battle against France, especially with Lakshya Sen out of the equation and the three singles matches upfront.
India's best bet in the tie was always to win at least one of the singles matches and drag bring their doubles pair into the mix. But that one singles win never came.
Let alone a match win, Ayush Shetty, Kidambi Srikanth, and HS Prannoy couldn't even win a game. Prannoy came close in the opening game of Men's Singles 3 but Toma Junior Popov snatched it away as well.
So, India will return home with a bronze medal from Horsens, Denmark. It won't be as shiny as their gold from four years back, but it is still only their second medal in the prestigious tournament.
Ayush Shetty was the star of the tournament for India, winning four out of five matches. Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag, and HS Prannoy showed glimpses of their brilliance.
With the Asian Games up ahead in the year, India would hope all four of them continue to click over the next few months.
HS Prannoy pulls one back, but that's all he can do.
He hits a down-the-line smash wide. It is 16-21.
Toma Junior Popov goes on a run. The entire French team is now on the court. They are through to their first-ever Thomas Cup final.
A shuttle hit out of bounds, and a shuttle hit into the net from Prannoy. 2 points for Toma Junior Popov. 5 TIE POINTS FOR FRANCE!
Prannoy hits one into the net before coming up with a cross court shot. Popov wants a review but he has burnt both of his challenges.
"It's on the line," he tells the umpire.
"It is not," comes the reply.
Popov then goes on to lift long as Prannoy reduces deficit to three points at 15-18.
An extremely deceptive return of serve from Toma Junior Popov and Prannoy has no answers. He just turns the head of the racquet at the last moment and even the commentators are left in awe.
Prannoy trails 12-17 before Popov lifts long. The Frenchman challenges once again and loses yet again. 13-17.
He continues to fight with back-to-back smashes. Finally gets the point with a cross-court shot. 12-16.
Three points in a row now for Toma Junior Popov as Prannoy goes long. The Frenchman has extended his lead to five points at 16-11.
France are just five points away from a historic first-ever Thomas Cup final.
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