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India's highest-ranked shuttler Lakshya Sen shed light on the difficulty of sitting out India's Thomas Cup 2026 semifinal tie against France and watching from the sidelines despite wanting to play. The Indian shuttler said that he wanted to play the match "really badly."
India lost to France 0-3 in the semifinals in Horsens, Denmark, on Saturday as India's dream of reclaiming the title they won in 2022 ended, leaving them with a bronze medal for the 2026 edition. The semifinal match was heavily impacted before it even began, as Lakshya was ruled out due to an elbow injury sustained during his quarterfinal victory against Chinese Taipei. Without their spearhead, India struggled to match the intensity of the French side, eventually going down 0-3. Speaking during a media interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Lakshya Sen said it was extremely difficult to miss the semifinal, as he wanted to play until the very end but was advised against it by his coaches and physios. He added that watching France win the tie from the sidelines was painful, and it was a tough decision for him to sit out. "Very difficult. I tried to play until the very end, but my coaches and the physios, everybody said 'you can't play'. It was very hard for me to just see somebody else (France) win the tie. I feel, especially sitting out there and watching the matches, I wanted to play really badly. It was tough decision for me to not be playing," Lakshya said. Earlier, during India's quarterfinal match against Chinese Taipei, Sen defeated higher-ranked Chou Tien Chen 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 in a match that lasted an hour and 28 minutes. The match was a topsy-turvy affair as both players overcame a sizeable deficit in the first two games to take the match to a decider. While Chou fought back from 10-15 in the first, Sen trailed 14-17 in the second before saving two match points. Sen then kept his nose ahead in the third with a strong attacking play to hand India the first point, and setting up what eventually proved to be a 3-0 victory for India. Coming to India's semifinal bout against France, in the opening singles, Ayush Shetty found himself overwhelmed by world No. 4 Christo Popov. The Frenchman showcased relentless pace and precision, never allowing Shetty to find a rhythm. Popov wrapped up a dominant 21-11, 21-9 victory to give France a 1-0 lead. Veteran Kidambi Srikanth stepped onto the court for the second singles against Alex Lanier, but despite a more competitive showing, he also went down in straight games. Lanier held his nerve in key moments to win 21-16, 21-18, leaving India on the verge of elimination. With India trailing 0-2 and facing a "do-or-die" situation, HS Prannoy took on Toma Junior Popov. The first game was a tightly contested affair, with Prannoy leading 19-18 before a late surge from Popov saw the Frenchman take the opener 21-19. In the second game, the momentum swung entirely in favour of France. Prannoy could not withstand Popov's aggression. Popov raced to a 21-16 win in the second set, sparking celebrations from the French camp as they secured a 3-0 win. (ANI)
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