THE CUP SCHEDULE
THOMAS CUP SQUAD (Singles) H.S. Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George; (Doubles) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, M.R. Arjun, Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek
WHEN TO WATCH IT
27 APRIL,
India vs Thailand, 3:30 PM
29 APRIL,
India vs England, 7:00 AM
1 MAY,
India vs Indonesia, 5:00 PM
Indian team that won a silver at the 2022 Asian Games—the country’s best performance at the continental event. He is now ranked No. 9 in the world and, at 31, has secured Olympic qualification for the first time.
“These kind of team wins give you that extra happiness, that extra confidence also,” he says. “If you are able to play well in that particular tournament, you can do well in individual tournaments as well. 2023 was one of the best seasons on the tour for me, not just because of the medals but also a lot of consistent performances, a lot of quarterfinals, a lot of semi-finals and a couple of finals as well.”
Prannoy will be hoping that a good performance in the Thomas Cup can get him going in 2024 as well. Having played through a back injury at the Asian Games, he missed a few weeks in 2023 to recover and recuperate. But Prannoy hasn’t put his best foot forward yet—he suffered four first-round exits in the six tournaments played this year. A semi-final finish at the India Open in January is his best performance of 2024 so far.
In Chendgu, Prannoy will be India’s top-ranked player and will be entrusted with giving India a strong start. With the up-and-coming Rajawat in the reserves, India might be tempted to shuffle the line-up and test the bench strength, at least in the group stages. They have been drawn in Group C along with Thailand, England and Indonesia.
A SURE THING
Not so long ago, India’s tennis teams used to assume a 1-0 advantage at tournaments because Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi were guaranteed to win a point in doubles—and they did so for more than a decade. In Satwik-Chirag, the Indian badminton team has a similar bankable doubles pair who can turn the tie in their favour.
India’s biggest title threat at the elite 16-team event may still come from one of China, Denmark, and Indonesia (the most successful team in tournament history). The tournament may also act as a springboard for young talent like Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan, the junior world champion, Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul of Thailand and Magnus Johannesen of Denmark. Meanwhile, it will be the swansong for former world No. 1 Kento Momota, whose career never fully recovered after a car accident in 2020.
“There are way too many strong teams out there this time for Thomas Cup,” says Prannoy. “Whenever you get into the first tie, there is a bit of tension around. It is important for us to get that first round, first day match to be getting into the right space of mind, getting some good wins under the belt. It’s not going to be easy at all, but I think we have the belief that the team which has done that in the past and is equally motivated to go out there and do it again.” Indian badminton’s dream team is chasing an encore.