There was a bit of tension among the Indian contingent as the Thomas Cup quarter-final between India and Chinese Taipei got under way in Horsens. Since their historic triumph in 2022, India have never made it past the last 8 stage of the tournament.
And when we reached a, it was a familiar sinking feeling the decisive moment of the match between Lakshya Sen and Chou Tien-chen while the Indian ace was staring down defeat, by two match points in the second game. Fit enough to top it off with an Indian sports Bollywood film, Lakshya conjured strength from the badminton gods to spark a comeback and that proved to be the pattern he followed in the next two games.
THOMAS CUP: FULL REPORT
The semi-final between India and France is scheduled to start at 21:30 IST (18:00 local time) at the earliest. Live streaming will be available on JioHotstar while TV coverage will be telecasted on Star Sports.
Satwik-Chirag earned a hard-fought victory in three games against Chinese Taipei’s top doubles team of Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin. Then it was the chance of the star boy of Indian badminton, Ayush Shetty to step up.
The Asian Championship silver medalist took down the All England champion in straight games to overcome a 10-12 deficit. That ended a four-year wait to reach the semi-finals, but the work is not done. In fact, it is far from it.
France stands against them. Few expected them to make it to the semi-finals, but here they are, upsetting the odds and not looking at reputation.
Their biggest win came in a Group D match against 14-time champions Indonesia, beating them 4-1. They followed that up with a 3-0 demolition of 2014 champions Japan on Friday to reach their first Thomas Cup semi-final and secure a medal.
The win will see India reach the top for the first time since their historic win in 2022 and face either China or Denmark on Sunday, May 3.
THOMAS CUP SEMI-FINALS: PREDICTION
The India vs France match on Saturday is expected to be a true 50v50 battle. The strength for the French side will be the depth they have in the singles department.
Christo Popov is ranked No. 4 in the world and will lead the French challenge. He will be accompanied by Alex Lanier and the World Ten is expected to be a stern test for the Indian shuttlers.
Tom Jr. Popov is the third big name and his experience will be key. France did against Japan to ensure that the doubles contests would not be needed. But this may not be the case when it comes to Saturday
Lakshya, Ayush and Kiran George are familiar with the challenge from the Popovs as they trained with them before the Paris Olympics.
With the form that Lakshya and Ayush are in at the moment, the order is not important to them and so is the big name reputation.
If France make it to the deep end, the doubles, then the Popovs will have to compete in the final play-off. There, India will keep its trump cards, Satwik-Chirag at the ready.
In case the relationships between the individuals get a bit complicated, Kidami Srikkanth and HS Prannoy can step in anytime to bring their experience to the fore and save the team.
With the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final being played on consecutive days, the only major issue seems to be player fatigue and recovery. If both sides can pull this off then expect a battle for the ages.
“We believe we can go all the way. It’s always been like that. We have a solid team and everyone believes we can do it,” Ayush told PTI after the win.
India will be hoping that his words prove to be gold and that they can make the last time and challenge for the crown.
– The end
Published on:
02 May 2026 12:08 IST
