3 min readMay 3, 2026 06:00 AM IST
It was a straightforward loss of three singles from India to France’s top 3, all ranked in Top 20. But Frenchman Alex Lanier believed it was deep strategy that India was using to confuse France.
Thomas Cups can get wild, like that.
France ended up evicting Indonesia, Japan and India in succession to become first non-Denmark European team to make Thomas Cup finals since England in 1984.
Lanier, World No 10, had prepared and strategised for Ayush Shetty. But India decided to rest Lakshya Sen in first singles. Which meant a very docile Kidambi Srikanth fetched up to play second singles, and was beaten 21-16, 21-18 not before giving the Frenchman a few rallies to ponder over, as his deception cut into the pace and tempo of Lanier.
Lanier though reckoned the move was aimed at boggling the French.
Sen had rammed his elbow into the floor and suffered an impact shock, besides complaining of blisters. Lanier though thought it was a plan to field Srikanth to scare him. “I was supposed to play Ayush. But it was Srikanth. In the small part of my brain, I was also thinking that Srikanth didn’t play most ties. So he was fresh. Or maybe one match,” he told the BWF.
It was Sen’s pulling out that the French saw as tactics. “Also Lakshya played three sets, so I was expecting him to play, but not that well. He chose to not play. That was the right thing maybe. I don’t know how is he. To be honest India chose the right strategy to confuse us,” Lanier added.
However he put a positive affirming spin on it. “That’s also a good message for us. That means we are pretty strong. We are scaring other teams also. That’s why they are trying to confuse us. They’re trying everything they can. Our goal is to show them we are ready and we are good,” he said as France made the Thomas Cup finals for the first time, scheduled to meet China.
Story continues below this ad
Srikanth on the other hand, was disappointed. “I played OK in first part of the match. But he played a little better when it mattered. At this level if you’re playing semifinals of Thomas Cup, every match will be 50-50. So just have to try and get that point. Few points in the end …” he trailed off, as India settled for bronze.
Ayush Shetty who faced a blowout against Christo Popov said his strategy wasn’t quite right. “Really disappointed with performance today. But Christo played very solid today. I was using a lot of deception but mistakes caught me off guard. Because I wasn’t stable on court. Overall his pace was really high which put pressure on me. My overall gameplan was not right. He outclassed me today. That’s it. I wanted to put the pressure on. But Christo pushed the pace and he gave me no chance at the net. He dominated the net. Shuttles were fast today,” he would say.
