Thomas Cup 2026: India enter semi-final for second time; medal assured

The Indian men's badminton team stormed into the semi-finals of the 2026 Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark on Friday, assuring themselves of a medal in the competition.

This is only the second time in history of the men's world team championships that India have made it to the final four. The last time they did so, they clinched a historic title win four years back in 2022.

Up against a formidable Chinese Taipei outfit in the quarter-finals, India registered a 3-0 win with Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, and Ayush Shetty all winning their respective matches.

Sen, playing the first singles match of the tie, started off on the backfoot, losing the first game 18-21 against world No 6 Chou Tien Chen.

The world No 11 from India trailed 5-11 in the second game and was down by two match points before he turned things around to win it 22-20 and force a decider.

Sen then outlasted his older opponent 21-17 in a physical third game to close out a gruelling match in 88 minutes and give India the lead.

The former World No 1 men's doubles pair of Satwik-Chirag were also pushed to their limit in the second match of the tie by Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin.

The Indians were on the backfoot for most of the opening game but managed to save two game points to win it 23-21.

They then lost a closely fought second game 19-21 before dominating to win the decider and the match 21-12, handing India a 2-0 lead.

With the team just a win away from the semi-finals, the young Ayush Shetty registered his fourth win of the competition in as many matches.

The 6'4" tall Ayush eased past Lin Chun Yi 21-16, 21-17 in straight games to assure India of at least a bronze medal.

India will now face the winner of the tie between Japan and France in the semi-final on Saturday.