Thomas Cup triumph vs Indonesia hailed as ‘one of the biggest days for Indian sport’
The Indian badminton team earned plaudits from Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra for winning India’s first world team title.
The Indian men’s badminton team on Sunday clinched the country’s first-ever Thomas Cup title in Bangkok, Thailand. The Indian men trounced 14-time winners and defending champions Indonesia and won the tie 3-0.
Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and the doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won their respective matches to guide India to the historic triumph in the Thomas Cup 2022 final.
Thomas Cup is regarded as the world team championship of badminton and India’s improbable victory has evoked reactions from India’s top sportspersons.
“What a historic day! An incredible achievement by an incredible Team India to win the #ThomasCup for the first time ever,” Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra tweeted. “Bounced back from tough situations on numerous occasions to win Gold. Kudos to all the players and coaches. Champions, all of you!”
India had previously made the Thomas Cup semi-finals on three occasions - 1979, 1955 and 1952 - but never got past that stage.
Social media was filled with congratulatory messages for the Indian badminton team.
With three in-form singles players - world No. 9 Lakshya Sen, world No. 11 Kidambi Srikanth and world No. 23 HS Prannoy - along with world No. 9 doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, India had entered the Thomas Cup 2022 with one of their strongest teams in recent times.
Former Indian hockey player Viren Rasquinha also praised the Indian team, saying, “Congrats Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty. What a team!! You guys have truly put the Nation first in your fighting spirit, teamwork and camaraderie. One of the biggest days ever for Indian sport.”
“When I played the Olympics at Athens 2004, India had one player in the men's badminton draw who lost very early,” Viren Rasquinha recalled. “Today we are Thomas Cup Champions in 2022. What depth in Indian badminton. What a transformation. Winning mentality.”
India had stormed into their first-ever Thomas Cup final by beating 2016 champions Denmark in the semis after overcoming five-time winners Malaysia in the quarter-finals. India had lost only one tie in the campaign which came against Chinese Taipei in the group stage.
Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, who guided India team to two Davis Cup finals, wrote, “It is truly a historic achievement by the Indian Badminton Team to beat the giants Indonesia so comfortably. Impressive and overwhelming.”
Next up for the members of the winning Indian badminton team will be Thailand Open 2022 - a BWF Super 500 individual tournament to be held in Bangkok from May 17.