India made their first-ever Thomas Cup final appearance in 2022 and clinched a historic gold medal. But in the 2026 edition, the former champions fell to France, who made their first-ever Thomas Cup final, 3-0 in the semifinal to take the bronze medal home. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThis one stays with me. For a long long time. Not just the medal, but everything around it. The build up, the energy in the group, the belief we kept feeding each other. Those last few days\u2026 hard to put into words. Just pure emotion. Grateful for this. Truly,\u201d Prannoy, who was part of 2022 winning team, wrote on X.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At this year\u2019s tournament, India\u2019s run came to an abrupt halt at the Forum Horsens, where a depleted side struggled to match a clinical French unit that scripted history by reaching their maiden final. The absence of Lakshya Sen, who was ruled out with an elbow injury ahead of the semifinal, proved a significant blow to India\u2019s chances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ayush Shetty, stepping up as the first singles player, went down to world No. 4 Christo Popov 11-21, 9-21 as France took an early lead. Srikanth Kidambi then battled hard against World No. 10 Alex Lanier but fell short 16-21, 18-21, leaving India on the brink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At this year\u2019s tournament, India\u2019s run came to an abrupt halt at the Forum Horsens, where a depleted side struggled to match a clinical French unit that scripted history by reaching their maiden final. The absence of Lakshya Sen, who was ruled out with an elbow injury ahead of the semifinal, proved a significant blow to India\u2019s chances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India\u2019s journey to the semifinals had already secured them a podium finish, marking only the second time they reached the last four in Thomas Cup history, after their historic title triumph in 2022. <\/p>\r\n\r\n