India Falls 0-3 to France in Badminton Thomas Cup Semifinal

India’s badminton campaign at the Thomas Cup 2026 ended on Saturday with a 0-3 semifinal loss to France in Horsens, Denmark. The defeat sent India home with bronze, its fifth medal in the men’s team competition.

Ayush Shetty Starts the Slide

Ayush Shetty opened with a 11-21, 9-21 loss to Christo Popov in 39 minutes. Shetty was World No. 18, but Popov arrived at World No. 4 and controlled the pace from the first game.

After the match, Shetty said: “My overall game plan was not right. He just outclassed me today. The point was to put the pressure on him but he really pushed the pace and he was not giving me a chance to hit the net. He dominated the net and the shots were a bit fast today. I think that made the difference.”

Srikanth and Prannoy Fall Short

Kidambi Srikanth followed with a 21-16, 21-18 loss to Alex Lanier in 41 minutes. Lanier carried a World No. 10 ranking into the tie and closed out India’s second singles match in straight games.

H.S. Prannoy then lost to Toma Junior Popov 21-18, 21-16, sealing the sweep for France. Lakshya Sen was ruled out of the tie because of an elbow injury, leaving India to adjust its singles options before the first shuttle was struck.

France Reaches Maiden Final

France reached its maiden Thomas Cup final and will face defending champion China, which beat Denmark 3-0 in the other semifinal. India’s path was narrowed further by the competition rule that stops players from playing back-to-back matches, and the Popov brothers formed France’s No. 1 doubles pair.

That left Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty available only if Prannoy had beaten Toma Junior Popov and Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun had beaten Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi in the first doubles. India did not get that far, and the bronze added to previous medals in 1952, 1955 and 1979.