Was determined not to give up despite injury: HS Prannoy

India shuttler rejoices ‘big win against Denmark’

HS Prannoy, who emerged as the hero of India’s historic victory in the semi-finals on Friday despite getting injured during the match, said that winning against Denmark was big as they have three topranking players and that the support from the staff gave him energy.

India scripted history on Friday by getting through to their first-ever final of the Thomas Cup. The Indian men’s team beat Denmark 3-2 in a challenging contest with Prannoy winning the decisive match. He had done the same in the quarter-final against Malaysia which India also won by a 3-2 margin. India will now face the 14-time champions Indonesia on Sunday.

“This is a very big win for us. Denmark always has its strength with singles and they have three players who are in the top 15 of the world ranking. I think it is always tough to beat a team like Denmark, the way they have pulled off matches in this tournament has been incredible,” said HS Prannoy.

He battled injury to register one of the most remarkable wins of his career.

“In my mind, it was always coming that I should not give up, just try and see how it goes. Was praying that the pain doesn’t get aggravated and it started to reduce towards the second game and by the third, I was feeling much better,” Prannoy said.

Speaking about another star of the semi-finals Kidambi Srikanth, Prannoy said, “Srikanth played extraordinarily well The support from the entire squad was really good, I think that give me a lot of energy.”

After the loss of Lakshya Sen to Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in straight games, India went down 0-1. However, the top-ranked duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made it 1-1 after defeating Kim Astrup and Mathias Christiansen 21-18 21-23 2220 in a marathon battle.

Kidambi Srikanth gave India lead with an outstanding win over World No. 4 Anders Antonsen. Srikanth won 21-18, 12-21, 21-15. However, the young doubles Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan Goud lost their doubles tie in straight games.

In the final match, Prannoy played to expectations beating Gemke in three games and helped India clinch a memorable win.

India entered the final of the Thomas Cup for the first time since the tournament began 73 years ago.

(AFP) Members of India’s badminton team celebrate after H.S. Prannoy won against Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke during the semi-finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton tournament in Bangkok on Friday.

(AFP) India’s H.S. Prannoy returns a shot against Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke during the semi-finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton tournament in Bangkok on Friday.