The Indian men’s badminton team created history on Sunday with Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeating Indonesia 3-0 to win their first-ever Thomas Cup gold.
After being off-colour in the knockout stages, Sen gave India a 1-0 lead with a come-from-behind 8-21 21-17 21-16 win over world number five Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in a superb show of temperament and skill.
The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then saved four match points in the second game to eventually outwit Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21 23-21 21-19.
In the second singles, Srikanth outclassed Asian Games gold medallist Jonatan Christie 21-15 23-21 in 48 minutes to seal the contest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the team and said that the win will motivate many.
“The Indian badminton team has scripted history! The entire nation is elated by India winning the Thomas Cup! Congratulations to our accomplished team and best wishes to them for their future endeavours. This win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersons,” wrote PM Modi on Twitter.
No Indian team has previously reached the final of the Thomas and Uber Cup in its 70-plus year history. Indian men reached the Thomas Cup semi-finals in 1952, 1955 and 1979 while the women’s team made it to the Uber Cup top-four in 2014 and 2016.
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