Thomas Cup 2026: Chirag Shetty asks for change in match order rule
Chirag Shetty advocated for a change in the rules to determine the match order of a Thomas Cup tie after an “extraordinary situation” prevented him and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, India’s top doubles pair, from getting into the thick of things during the side’s semifinal loss to France on Saturday.
The order of play for a Thomas Cup tie is set in such a manner so that no player plays in two consecutive matches or plays doubles before singles. With Popov brothers – Christo and Toma Junior, France’s No. 1 and No. 3 singles player – also forming the team’s top doubles pair, it meant that the sprightly Satwik-Chirag duo could only be in action if the tie went the distance.
It didn’t reach that stage as France finished the tie with a 3-0 scoreline, winning all singles matches. India, the 2022 champion, was forced to settle for a bronze medal.
France had also beaten Japan in the same manner in the quarterfinals.
“I can’t really comment on if it’s fair or not because it’s in the rule book. It’s always been there. It’s a very extraordinary situation because there hasn’t been a strong badminton playing nation who puts singles players in their doubles matches as well. All major countries never do that,” said Chirag, when asked about the situation, in an interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India on Tuesday.
“It was a very unfortunate situation that our match didn’t come because the first three singles that France has are really strong.”
World No. 4 Christo outplayed Ayush Shetty, India’s best singles player in the absence of injured Lakshya Sen, 11-21, 9-21. World No. 10 Alex Lanier took down Kidambi Srikanth 21-16, 21-18 and World No. 17 Toma Junior wrapped up the match with a 21-19, 21-16 victory over H.S. Prannoy.
Had India won even one of the three singles rubbers, it would have had a slight advantage in doubles as Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun would have faced lower-ranked Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi in the second doubles before a potential match-decider between World No. 4 Satwik-Chirag and the Popovs, ranked 17 places below the Indians.
“When I look back, I think a lot of the badminton playing nations would want to change the way the ties are because it’s sort of advantage France for all the matches that they played because if they have to win a tie, it has to be in the first three matches.,” said the 28-year-old Chirag.
In the final against China, Christo lost the first singles to World No. 1 Shi Yuqi. While Lanier beat Li Shifeng to level the tie, Weng Hong Yang defeated Toma Junior in a thriller to restore his side’s lead. He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu sealed the deal by taking down Adam-Rossi in the first doubles played between the two sides’ No. 2 pairs.
“A lot of people might say that you need three wins anyway. So, even if it’s 3-2, if the singles players win it for them, you lose the match but it doesn’t actually work that way because when your team is down 2-0, it puts an immense amount of pressure on the player who’s playing the third tie. Whereas if you are leading 2-0, even the best of the best will crack under pressure,” argued Chirag.
Suggesting a possible rule change, the Indian shuttler said, “I think at least one, either the first doubles or the second doubles, should be played in the first three matches because the ones who are actually coming into the stadiums as well get to only see three singles and no doubles matches at all if it ends in three straight matches.”
Published on May 05, 2026