Indian icons hail historic triumph
India’s men’s badminton team pulled off a major upset by crushing 14-time champions Indonesia 3-0 in the final on Sunday to win their maiden Thomas Cup title.
The victory sparked celebration back home with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the tributes.
India’s sports ministry has announced a cash prize of 10 million rupees ($129,000) for the squad. “Historic moment for all Indians! What a day for Indian Badminton. Congratulations to the whole team on winning our maiden #Thomascup title,” tweeted the country’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.
Legendary Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra also congratulated the team on their historic win.
“What a historic day! An incredible achievement by an incredible Team India to win the #Thomascup for the first time ever!! Bounced back from tough situations on numerous occasions to win
Gold. Kudos to all the players and coaches. Champions, all of you!” tweeted Bindra, India’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medallist.
Lakshya Sen set the tone for the firsttime finalists when he stunned Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the first singles at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy combined with Chirag Shetty for a similar comefrom-behind victory over Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the first doubles. Kidambi Srikanth tamed Jonatan Christie 21-15 23-21 in the second singles as India became only the sixth nation to win the coveted trophy. After a 48-minute slugfest, Srikanth leapt to drill a crosscourt smash to Christie’s left.
The importance of his win was not lost on the 29-year-old who dropped his racket and let out a roar before being mobbed by his teammates who invaded the court. India proved their knockout stage victories over five-time champions Malaysia and 2016 winners Denmark were no fluke as they produced another courageous display against the badminton powerhouse.
Sen typified that fight in his 8-21 2117 21-16 victory against Ginting.
The 20-year-old was outplayed in the first game but he won the second and overcame a 7-11 deficit in the decider to prevail.
The first doubles match followed a similar script with Rankireddy and Shetty losing the first game.
They saved four match points in the second to roar back and prevailed 18-21 23-21 21-19. Srikanth kept it simple by winning the first game in 19 minutes.
Christie put up more resistance in the second game but Srikanth’s reflexes at the net and calculated aggression ensured India won the final without dropping a match. —