Well, this brings an end to the Thomas Cup 2026 semi-final between India and France. The campaign ends for India, while France march into the final. They will face the winner of the ongoing China vs Japan match. Stay connected to NDTV Sports for more updates from the world of sports. Good night!

There is the victory for France!!! HS Prannoy loses the second game 16-21 to Tomo Popov and so do India against France in this  Thomas Cup 2026 semi-final. While France walk into the summit clash with a 3-0 win, India take home bronze.

HS Prannoy slams it over the baseline to trail 11–16 against Toma Popov. France are only five points away from entering the final, while India are on the brink of elimination.

That is a good cross-court backhand smash from Toma Popov! He has taken a big lead, moving to 11–6. The French star is now only 10 points away from taking his team into the final. He has looked much better in this second game.

Smart play from Toma Popov as he comes from behind to make it 4 all in the second game. The French star smashed it to the left of Prannoy. As the Indian returned it, Toma hit it to his right to earn the crucial point.

Would you believe it? HS Prannoy has lost the first game despite leading through the majority of it. Toma Popov showed nerves of steel to clinch a narrow 21–19 win. He now needs to win just one more game to take France into the final. India are in huge trouble!

Toma Popov has levelled the score at 14! He has made an incredible comeback here. HS Prannoy will feel the pressure now, as the momentum is with Popov.

HS Prannoy has been relentless! He saw his opponent closing the gap a bit before outplaying him with a powerful set of smashes. The first one was to the left of Toma Popov. The French shuttler picked it well, but there was no chance of returning the second smash, which was hit to his right. Prannoy is leading 8–6!

Here's a ray of hope for struggling India! HS Prannoy is off to a dominating start against France's Toma Popov. The Indian is leading 7–4 in the first game.

India's HS Prannoy is playing against France's Toma Popov in the third match of the semi-final. This is a must-win match for India, or they will be eliminated, with France entering the final. The match will start with Toma's serve. Here we go.

What an anticlimax! Kidambi Srikanth fought hard but loses the match in straight games. He was already one game down and ended up losing the second one 18–21. India are in serious trouble. They trail France 0–2 in this contest. The side needs to win each of the remaining three matches to enter the final or it is out!

Alex Lanie fails to clear it off and he makes it 18-19. This is getting extremely close. Can Kidambi Srikanth seal a victory here?

Wow! This is a stunning smash from Kidambi Srikanth. He jumped to perfection and placed it to the left of Alex Lanier, right inside the tramline. No chance for the French player. The Indian shuttler trails 13–16. This has been a really tight game so far.

The Indian shuttler smashes one outside the sideline to lose a point. That is the break in the second game, and Kidambi Srikanth trails 9–11 against Alex Lanier. He has improved in the second game but needs to do much better to take the contest into a decider.

Kidambi Srikanth has been a bit unlucky here. Alex Lanier smashes it, and the shuttlecock bounces on the net. To Srikanth's poor luck, it jumps and falls on his side. The Indian trails 4–6.

It has been a tight fight between Kidambi Srikanth and Alex Lanier in this second game, as the Indian shuttler has shown good improvement. Remember, he needs to win this game to stay alive in this match.

Kidambi Srikanth put up a good fightback, but he ended up losing the second game 16–21! Alex Lanier would be a relieved man, as he needs to win only one more game to seal victory in this match.

Alex Lanier leads 18–12 in the first game. He needs only three more points to seal victory here. Not so easily! Two good smashes from Kidambi Srikanth, and he makes the score 14–18. Do we have a twist here?

Kidambi Srikanth closed the gap a bit before Alex Lanier stretched it again. The French shuttler is leading 11–7 at the break in the first game. India, who are already 0–1 down, are under pressure!

Kidambi Srikanth continues to fight hard in this first game. Alex Lanier smashes it to the right of the Indian player, who drops it cross-court, just inside the sideline to earn a point. Srikanth trails 6–7.

Kidambi Srikanth smashes it to the right of Alex Lanier and earns a point. As I type this, the Indian shuttler smashes one more through a backhand and levels the scores at 3. This has been a good comeback from Srikanth.

India's Kidambi Srikanth will play against France's Alex Lanier in the second match of the semi-final. Both players walk onto the court. Lanier to serve first. Here we go.

Ayush Shetty ends up losing the second game 9–21! He gave Christo Popov some fight in the first game, but the second one saw no real competition as the French shuttler made his way to a straight-games win. India trail France 0–1 in the Thomas Cup semi-final!

Some good exchanges around the net, and Ayush Shetty manages to earn a point as Christo Popov errs there. The French shuttler hits it outside the playing area over the back boundary line. Ayush trails 6–16 in the second game.

A rare mistake from Christo Popov! He jumped and smashed that hard but found the net. That will give a much-needed point to India's Ayush Shetty. The Indian trails 4-13 in second game.

Christo Popov is leading in the second game as well. He is covering the court really well and is simply the better player, be it net play or smashes. The French star is 6–2 up.

Ayush Shetty lost the first point and never really recovered. He tried to bounce back, but a dominant show from Christo Popov helped the French shuttler take a big lead. Ayush ended up losing the first game 11-21.

Christo Popov smashes it powerfully to the left of Ayush Shetty and earns yet another point. The French star has moved to 15–6 with that smash. He is closing in on an easy win here in the first game.

This has been a superb smash from Ayush! It was there for the offering, and he smashed it onto the body of his opponent to earn a point. The Indian is closing the gap on Christo. He has moved to 6–10. As I type this, Ayush has lost a point to trail 6–11.

Ayush Shetty has made a good comeback. He now trails Christo Popov 3–4 in the first game of the first match. It is worth noting that Ayush has also lost one challenge and has just one remaining.

The India vs France Thomas Cup semi-final begins! India's Ayush Shetty takes on France's Christo Popov in the first match. It starts with the serve of Ayush. Here we go.

In another semi-final match in the Thomas Cup tonight, China will take on Denmark. Both semi-final matches will take place simultaneously. The China vs Denmark match will be played on Court 1, while the India vs France contest will be held on Court 2.

There will be a total of five matches taking place in the semi-final if it goes to the decider. The team winning the best of five will enter the final. If a side manages to win the first three contests on the trot, it will advance to the final round, with the remaining two matches not taking place.

India had won the Thomas Cup in 2022, besides winning bronze medals in 1952, 1955, and 1979. They have already secured another bronze with an entry into the semi-finals. Just one more victory and they will be assured of at least a silver medal, their first in the tournament history.

Lakshya Sen saved two match points to beat world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty added a gritty doubles win, before Ayush Shetty delivered the final blow as India registered a commanding 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei to storm into the semifinals of the Thomas Cup Finals on Friday.

Have a look at the matches that are going to take place in the semi-final between India and France tonight -

1st match: Ayush Shetty vs Christo Popov

2nd match: Kidambi Srikanth vs Alex Lanier

3rd match: HS Prannoy vs Toma Popov

4th match: Amsakarunan/Arjun vs Adam/Rossi

5th match: Satwik/Chirag vs Popov/Popov

"Lakshya (Sen) sustained an impact to his elbow following an intense quarterfinal match that involved multiple dives. 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," Badminton Association of India (BAI) General Secretary Sanjay Mishra said in a statement.

Men's singles player Lakshya Sen will not be participating in the semi-final match against France tonight after sustaining an impact to his elbow following an intense quarter-final match that involved multiple dives.

Hello everyone, welcome to the live blog of the Thomas Cup semi-final between India and France. Stay connected to this space for live scores and updates related to the contest.