Horsens (Denmark), May 1 (IANS) Former champions India sealed a place in the semifinals of the Thomas Cup badminton team tournament, grabbing an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their quarterfinal clash against Chinese Taipei in the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2026 at Forum Horsens in Horsens, Denmark, on Friday.

The Indian men’s team, which finished second behind China in their group, surged to an unbeatable lead with Lakshya Sen beating Chou Tien Chen 18-21, 22-20, 21-17, coming back from losing the first game to win in 88 minutes.

In the men’s double, the former World No. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Sherry defeated Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei, winning a three-game encounter 23-21, 19-21, 21-12.

Aiyush Shetty then sealed a 3-0 lead by beating Lin Chun-Yi in the second singles, winning in straight games 21-16, 21-17.

India will meet the winner of the match between France and Japan in the semifinals, which will take place on Saturday, before the tournament culminates with the final the following day.

In 2022, India made it to the Thomas Cup semifinal for the first time in 43 years. Previously, Indian men had reached the Thomas Cup semi-final in 1952, 1955, and 1979.

Sen pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory against Chou Tien Chen, handing India a vital lead in their Thomas Cup knockout tie.

The match appeared to be slipping away from the Indian ace as he faced three match points in the second game, but he held the nerve to save all three, forcing the match into a decider.

The third game saw a complete shift in momentum. Sen outmanoeuvred Chen, mixing deceptive net play with cross-court smashes. He raced to a commanding lead early in the set, leaving Chen struggling to find answers to his pace. Despite a late surge from the Chinese Taipei star to narrow the gap, Sen closed out the match to secure a win.

In the second tie, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty overcame an 18-20 deficit to take the opening game 23-21. The second game remained tight, with both pairs locked at 8-8 in the early exchanges. The Indians appeared to be in a prime position to wrap up the match in straight games, holding a comfortable 14-11 lead, but the Taipei refused to buckle under the pressure and clawed their way back into the contest by taking the second game and taking the match into a decider.

In the deciding game, the Indian pair raced to an early 9-3 lead and maintained a commanding six-point cushion at the mid-game interval. After the break, Satwik-Chirag surged ahead to 13-6 and quickly extended the gap to 15-7 before sealing the match and extending India’s lead to 2-0.

–IANS

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