Badminton star Lakshya will not play Thomas Cup: Bad news for India before the semi-finals, know the reason
Denmark. India has suffered a major blow before the semi-final match of the Thomas Cup badminton tournament against France as its star player Lakshya Sen will not be able to play in it due to swelling in his right elbow and in his absence, world number 30 Kidambi Srikanth will take to the court. Lakshya saved two match points in the quarter-finals to register a 18-21 22-20 21-17 win over world number six Chou Tien Chen in a marathon match that lasted one hour and 28 minutes, giving India a 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei.
However, Lakshya suffered an elbow injury during this match and he has not yet fully recovered from it. Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra said in a statement, “Lakshya suffered an elbow injury after diving several times in a tough match in the quarterfinals. The team’s medical staff took this decision as a precautionary measure after a thorough investigation. So that Lakshya can recover from injury and if India reaches the final, he can be completely fit for the final.
Lakshya’s mentor and former Indian coach Vimal Kumar said, “He has also developed blisters on his feet.” In Lakshya’s absence, young Ayush Shetty will play the opening singles match against world number four Kristo Popov. Popov had defeated the Indian player in the Hailo Open in 2024. Srikanth will face world number 10 Alex Lanier in the second singles match.
In the third singles, HS Prannoy will face world number 17 Toma Junior Popov, who has a 1-0 record against the Indian. If the match progresses from singles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will face Aloi Adam and Leo Rossi in the first doubles match. In the final match, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face the Popov brothers.
“I don’t think it’s a shock,” Mishra said. We have a good team, everyone is full of confidence and if we win this match, hopefully the target will be available for the final.” According to the rules of the tournament, the matches are generally based on the ranking of the players. The highest ranked singles and doubles players from each team face each other.
If players are to compete in both singles and doubles, they must complete their singles matches before being paired in doubles. In the case of France, this means that the first three singles matches will be played followed by the doubles matches. With India reaching the semi-finals, the medal is assured. India won the Thomas Cup in 2022. She won bronze medals in 1952, 1955 and 1979.
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