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Horsens (Denmark), May 3 (IANS) Former winners India were stunned 0-3 by France in the semifinal of the Thomas Cup in a major upset in the tournament being held at Forum Horsens in Horsens, Denmark on Saturday night, bringing to a screeching halt their campaign in the men's team badminton competition.

While France made history by reaching their maiden Thomas Cup final, India will have to be content with a bronze medal.

Ayush Shetty, playing the first singles in the absence of Lakshya Sen, who suffered an elbow injury in the quarterfinals, went down to World No. 4 Christo Popov 11-21, 9-21 in just 39 minutes as France surged to a 1-0 lead. Srikanth Kidambi put up a decent fight against World No.10 Alex Lanier but lost 16-21, 18-21 in 41 minutes.

In the third singles, HS Prannoy waged a tough battle with World No. 17 Toma Junior Popov, losing the first game 19-21 and the second 16-21 as France sealed a memorable victory.

India’s men have powered into the last four, securing a medal and reaching this stage for only the second time in the tournament’s history, having famously lifted the title in 2022. Meanwhile, France had stunned 14-time champions Indonesia in the group stage and beat Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

Their clash was expected to be a tough one, but it turned out to be a comprehensive victory for France, their first entry into the final of this competition.

But just before the clash, India suffered a huge setback when Olympic Games semifinalist Lakshya Sen had to withdraw from the last-four stage match because of an injury. Lakshya sustained an impact to his elbow following an intense quarterfinal match that involved multiple dives, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) Honorary General Secretary, Sanjay Mishra, informed on Saturday.

"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 said.

That setback virtually put paid to India's chances as they had to rework their team combination for the all-important clash, and in the end, that did not work despite the inform Ayush Shetty stepping into the role of the first singles player.

Result:

Men: India lost to France 0-3 (Ayush Shetty lost to Christo Popov 11-21, 9-21; Kidambi Srikanth lost to Alex Lanier 16-21, 18-21; HS Prannoy lost to Toma Junior Popov 19-21, 16-21)

--IANS

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