Kidambi Srikanth (Image credit: BAI) France is on course at the Thomas Cup. After knocking out 14-time champions Indonesia in the group stage, France beat 2022 champions India 3-0, winning all three singles matches.Christo Popov obliterated Ayush Shetty 21-11, 21-9 to give France an early lead. Alex Lanier also recorded a straight-match win, defeating Kidambi Srikanth 21-18, 21-16 to make it 2-0 for France. In a do-or-die contest for India, HS Prannoy started long before losing a pair against Toma Junior Popov to lose 19-21, 16-21.In the other semi-final, China won their first two matches against Denmark.Popov was at his dominant best against Ayush during the 39-minute contest. The reigning World Tour Finals champion dominated at the net, targeting Ayush’s backhand corner with repeated smashes and controlling the tempo of the game.Ayush, who will turn 21 on Sunday, admitted that Christo was too good. “I am disappointed with my performance today. Christo was solid today… He had a high pace and put a lot of pressure on me,” said Ayush. “He was using a lot of tricks. It caught me by surprise. I was not stable on the court… He just outclassed me today,” Ayush added.India suffered a blow much before the match began as Lakshya Sen was ruled out of the semi-final due to a swollen right elbow he injured while diving in the three-match quarter-final on Friday.“Lakshya suffered an elbow injury after an intense quarter-final match that included several dives. After a thorough evaluation by the team’s medical staff, this decision was taken as a precautionary measure to give Lakshya adequate time to recover and ensure he is in optimal condition for the final should India advance,” BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra said in a statement.Korea will take on China in the Uber finalsMeanwhile, South Korea will face China in the Uber Cup final. In the semi-finals, South Korea beat Indonesia 3-1 and China beat Japan 3-0.
