Lakshya Sen has been ruled out of India’s Thomas Cup semifinal tie against France, to be played on Saturday evening (May 2) in Horsens, Denmark, due to an elbow injury sustained during his win over Chou Tien Chen in India’s quarterfinal against Chinese Taipei.
"Our men’s singles player, Lakshya Sen, will not be participating in today’s semi-final tie against France in the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2026. Lakshya sustained an impact to his elbow following an intense quarterfinal match that involved multiple dives," the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said in a statement.
"Following a thorough evaluation by the team’s medical staff, the decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to allow Lakshya adequate recovery time and ensure he is in optimal condition for the final, should India progress. He is currently under close medical observation and receiving all necessary support. The team remains confident and optimistic about his swift recovery and return to peak form," the statement added.
Lakshya, playing the first singles of the tie, on Friday prevailed over World No. 6 Chou Tien Chen 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 in an energy-sapping 88-minute clash. In a battle of nerve and endurance, Lakshya put up a brilliant performance, unlike his previous two losses against Viktor Lai and Li Shi Feng - both going beyond the one-hour mark - to give India a 1-0 lead in the tie.
After suffering an 18-21 loss in the opening game, the two familiar foes - heading into the match with a 4-4 head-to-head record - played out a remarkable second game, with the Indian managing to force the decider and keep the chance of an early lead alive. A 22-20 win saw Lakshya bounce back and regain his confidence.
In the decider, a topsy-turvy duel unfolded with the game evenly poised at 6-6. From there, three points on the trot saw Lakshya break away. His crosscourt smash, ability to dictate the net, and willingness to craft rallies saw Chou feeling his legs in what was a tiring battle.
With Chou keeping the shuttle in play at the net, Lakshya had to dive at full stretch to return the flicks, which in turn hurt his elbow. As the better player in a battle of energy, he wrongfooted Chou repeatedly, pushing him into the corners and finding the baseline consistently to give India a crucial lead.
Lakshya's absence is a big blow for India as the first three matches in the semifinal against France will be singles matches, the country's premier men's doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are set to play the fifth rubber.
Without Lakshya, India will face a stiff challenge against an in-form French side. They blanked Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Their singles players - Christo Popov, Alex Lanier and Toma Junior Popov - are all in the top 20 and won their matches in straight games to propel France to their first Thomas Cup semifinals. The trio set the core of the team, and they were at the thick of the action when France stunned 14-time champion Indonesia 4-1 in the group stage to knock out them in the biggest upset of the tournament.
In Lakshya's absence, Ayush Shetty, the man in form who has won all four of his matches so far in the tournament, will face World No. 4 Christo in the opening singles match. Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth, who is yet to play a match in the tournament, will go up against World No. 10 Alex Lanier, and HS Prannoy, who was not drafted into the team for the quarterfinal, will face Toma Junior.
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