India made a surprise in the 2022 Thomas Cup. Coming as the underdog team, India appeared very impressive and made history as the champion of the most prestigious men’s team tournament.
In the final match at Impact Arena, Nonthaburi, Thailand, Sunday (15/5/2022), India conquered Indonesia. They won 3-0 over the reigning champions. This became a big history in Indian badminton because for the first time appearing in the final and immediately became champion.
As for Indonesia, this failure made the Red-White team still has record with 14 Thomas Cup titles. For this success, the Indian Thomas Cup team will receive a huge bonus.
India opened the scoring through Lakshya Sen. The 20-year-old player won 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 over Indonesia’s first single, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. In the second party, India’s best doubles Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty won 18-21, 23-21, 21-19 over Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Mohammad Ahsan. In the third party, India won again.
Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth appeared very solid and won the straight game 21-15, 23-21 over the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist, Jonatan Christie. As a result, India, which has never progressed beyond the semifinals on three occasions to reach the final stage in the tournament’s 73-year history, ended the long wait. They won the 2022 Thomas Cup.
“This may sound a bit dramatic. But you know, when I was in Korea for the Korea Masters and the following week we were going through the selection… suddenly after the trial, when the team was announced, we made a Whatsapp group and said: ‘We’ll take it home’, or something like that,” Kidambi told BWF after the match.
“This happened a week before the tournament started. So yes… we always thought we could, but we just need to be consistent,” added Kidambi. “Coming here, it’s a fantastic team and we have a great atmosphere. We’re a happy team and we support each other. Every win, every achievement is unique. Before this India had never won the Thomas Cup. Now to be included in the team that has won the Thomas Cup and contributing to this victory makes me very happy.”
Praise and flattery goes to India’s Thomas Cup team. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Moli, offered his congratulations via Twitter. “The Indian badminton team has made history! The whole country is happy that India won the Thomas Cup…,” tweeted the prime minister. India’s sports minister reacted. He announced that the Indian Thomas Cup team will be rewarded with a bonus of $129,000
