The Indian badminton team today did what had never happened before in the history of the Thomas Cup. Indians will never forget Bangkok where India clean swept Indonesia, a 14-time champion and six-time Runners up by 3-0. The noise of dhol-nagade and then the sound of the National Anthem filled the whole stadium. Indonesia was far superior than India in all respects like records, rankings and even experience. They did not lose a single tie in this year`s Thomas Cup. That is why they were being considered a favourite.
“You all have achieved such a momentous feat. Entire team deserves kudos,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while congratulating the victors of the Thomas Cup. The Prime Minister was also effusive in his praise of Lakshya Sen, the man with a Midas touch.
But India has shown that if there is a hunger for victory, every big obstacle can be overcome. Just like India did in London, Rio and then Tokyo by winning a medal in the Olympics and a few months back in the World Championship where India won two medals, Kidambi Srikanthh silver and Lakshya Sen bronze, in 2021.
This was a big achievement for India. One thing was missing, however, as India did not win any gold on both occasions. But the way Indian players played, it showed they had all the ingredients to make tomorrow theirs. And with their decisive and thrilling win over the favourite Indonesia, India ends 74 years of drought in the Thomas Cup. Now, it is time to end the gold medal drought in the Olympic badminton as well. Lakshya Sen, who was not able to win his match in the previous ties in this tournament, won convincingly and took the lead. He defeated Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Gitting. Sen’s strategy against Gitting away from the net worked very well to his advantage. Though he lost the first game, Sen didn’t look back. The Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty duo saved four match points and won the match in the next game. Jonathan Christy, an Asian Games gold medallist, was four ranked up against Kidambi Srikanth in the third match. His record was 5-4 against Kidambi Srikanthh, but Srikanthh kept his forehand crosscourt and the attacking game did not allow Christie to stand a chance before him. Although losing concentration in between, he also lost many points. But he kept faith in himself and saved the day for himself and for the country. Could anyone have ever imagined that India would win in the quarterfinals and semi-finals against former champions Malaysia and Denmark? In the league stage, could anybody imagine that India would clean sweep Germany and Canada and even beat 14 times champion Indonesia by 3-0? Now India needs more Gopichand and Prakash Padukone Academies to promote and nurture the sport and shuttlers, and the Indian government should start at least two world-class academies in North and East with world-class coaches.