PETALING JAYA: France's singles players have been on the rise, but it was their doubles strength that truly turned heads in the Thomas Cup Finals.
On Tuesday (April 28), France made a huge statement by outplaying 14-time Thomas Cup champions Indonesia 4-1 in the final Group B tie at Forum Horsens, to seal a spot in the quarter-finals.
Their rapid rise should serve as a warning to traditional powerhouses that nothing can be taken for granted, said Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei.
Chong Wei was particularly impressed with the improvement shown by the doubles players Adam Eloi and Leo Rossi, who stunned the more experienced Moh Reza-Sabar Karyaman 21-19, 21-19.
The 27-year-old Eloi, and Leo, 26 delived the fourth point after France built their lead through singles wins from Christo Popov, Alex Lanier and Toma Junior Popov, who defeated Jonatan Christie, Alwi Farhan and Anthony Ginting respectively.
The Popov brothers dropped one point when they lost 18-21, 21-19, 11-21 to Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri.
France also have in their squad Julien Maio-William Villeger, who had upstaged world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the second round of the German Open in March this year.
"We all know that France have good singles players, we have seen their improvement and results as well but I was shocked by the win of their first doubles," said Chong.
"That pair did well. I watched the match and saw the quality in their game."
It was the first time that France have entered the quarter-finals, while Indonesia suffered their worst-ever performance after failing to clear the group stage.
Failure to clear the group stage for the first ever time could lead to serious consequences for Indonesia.
"I'm sure their management would look into this - it's the same with every team whenever they lose. There could be changes as there is Asian Games to look forward too," added Chong Wei.
