2 min readMay 2, 2026 04:00 PM IST
Ayush Shetty will play first singles against World No 4 Christo Popov hoping to stop the French juggernaut, and keep his Thomas Cup record intact.
Lakshya Sen will miss the semifinal tie. He had landed on his elbow and taken a thudding impact while going for a shot on Friday against Chinese Taipei. But it is yet unclear if his absence is owing to that.
“Lakshya is dealing with a swollen playing arm—particularly around the elbow—after his fall in yesterday’s match against Chou Tien Chen. He is also struggling with blisters on his feet. This is certainly a setback for India. Let’s hope we can still win two singles matches today,” coach Vimal Kumar said.
Ayush last played the WTF champion Popov at Hylo Open and lost in the semis, earlier in the European swing. However his game and confidence have evolved since, and he will shoulder the burden of the singles start. Kidambi Srikanth will play Alex Lanier while HS Prannoy takes on Toma Jr Popov. The Indian has lost to the World No 17 Frenchman at last year’s All England.
India can realistically target to win 2/3 singles and then hope Satwik-Chirag can stay in contention in the fifth rubber, after Sen’s withdrawal dented Indian hopes.
The quirk with playing France is, all their three singles necessarily play first three rubbers, because Toma Jr and Christo are also France’s first doubles pair. However with Toma lining up in third singles and a mandatory one match gap necessary, the French second pair, Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi play the fourth match.
France defeated Japan in the quarters. Last year’s World Tour Finals champion and World No 4 Christo Popov defeated No 9 Kodai Naraoka, 21-17, 21-17. While Alex Lanier breezed past Yushi Tanaka, 21-15, 21-17.
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In the third singles, Toma Jr Popov, older brother of Christo, won the battle of Top 20s, with Toma at No 17 and Koki Watanabe at No 20. Watanabe offered some resistance before losing 21-19, 23-21.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
