India has suffered a huge blow before the Thomas Cup semi-final match. Star shuttler Lakshya Sen is out of the semi-final match against France. There is swelling in his right elbow, due to which he will not be able to play in this match. 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.
During this match, Lakshya suffered an elbow injury and he has not been able to fully recover from it yet. Lakshya’s mentor and former Indian coach Vimal Kumar told PTI, ‘Lakshya’s hand is swollen, especially around the elbow, due to his fall during the match against Chou yesterday. He also has blisters on his feet.
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This player will take charge instead of the target
In Lakshya’s absence, young Ayush Shetty will play the opening singles match against world number-4 Christo Popov. Popov had defeated the Indian player in the Hailo Open in 2024. World number 30 Kidambi 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 beyond the singles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will take on Aloi Adam and Leo Rossi in the first doubles match. In the final match, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face the Popov brothers.
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‘Lakshya’s injury is not a big blow’
Badminton Association of India Secretary Sanjay Mishra said on Lakshya’s injury, ‘I don’t think it is a shock. 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 tournament rules, matches are generally based on the ranking of the players. The best ranked singles and doubles players of each team face each other. If players are to play 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. Apart from this, he won bronze medals in 1952, 1955 and 1979.
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