Thomas Cup 2022 badminton final: India face 14-time champions Indonesia – watch live streaming
This will be India’s first-ever final in the men’s team badminton championships. Watch live!
In what will be their first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, the Indian men’s badminton team will square up against the record 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday.
The Indonesia vs India Thomas Cup 2022 final starts at 11:30 AM IST (Indian Standard Time) in India.
No Indian team has previously reached the final of the Thomas and Uber Cup in its 70-plus year history. Indian men reached the Thomas Cup semi-finals in 1952, 1955 and 1979 while the women’s team made it to the Uber Cup top-four in 2014 and 2016.
The Indian team, featuring Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and others, have given a good account of themselves at this year’s tournament.
India finished second in Group C behind Chinese Taipei to qualify for the knockout stage, where they came up on top against strong Malaysian and Danish teams in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.
HS Prannoy deserves special credit for both wins as he came out with crucial victories in the final rubbers of both the quarter-final and semi-final ties.
The world No. 13 Indian’s win over Rasmus Gemke to seal India’s spot in the final was particularly impressive considering Prannoy sustained an injury early in the first game, which he lost, but battled through the pain to drive India home.
Despite their momentum, India face an uphill task in the final against a star-studded Indonesian team, which is yet to lose a single tie in this year’s tournament. Led by world No. 5 and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Anthony Ginting, the Indonesians also have Jonatan Christie, eighth in the world badminton rankings, in their squad.
The world No. 24 Shesar Rhustavito, Indonesia’s third singles player, has also shown some good form and will be high on confidence after producing a decisive win against Japan in the fifth match of their semi-final tie.
In the doubles, though the legendary Hendra Setiawan, the team captain, has played only a single match this campaign, his regular partner Mohammad Ahsan has struck up a productive partnership with Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, winning three of the pair’s two matches together.
It’ll be interesting to see if Indonesia decide to bring back the Satiawan-Ahsan partnership for the final. The two have won three world championships as a pair.
Indonesia’s second doubles team of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto are no slouch either and are former world championships bronze medallists.
Furthermore, Indonesia are the most successful team in the history of the competition with 14 titles and are also the reigning champions. Almost all players from the current team were also part of their championship-winning campaign in 2021, which saw Indonesia end a 19-year-long wait for the Thomas Cup badminton trophy.
Where to watch the Thomas Cup 2022 final live in India?
The India vs Indonesia Thomas Cup 2022 badminton final will be telecast live on the Sports18 TV channel in India. Live streaming will be available on Voot platform.