With each passing day, India got closer to achieving the hitherto unthinkable: winning the Thomas Cup, badminton’s ultimate team prize. However, a dozen players in Bangkok and their trainers in India were widely believed. They’ve known for a month that the Indian men will win the Thomas Cup. This was a rendezvous with destiny, precisely planned and carried out by India’s most underappreciated and talented athletes — the men’s badminton players.
Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Lakshya Sen, and HS Prannoy are among the stars of the film. They knew it, they admitted it, they hoped the country would believe them, but it didn’t matter if it didn’t. Regardless of what others thought, they were due for their appointment with destiny.
India invited history to an excellent cup of tea on Sunday, defeating Thomas Cup kings Indonesia 3-0 in the finals. They were denied their 15th while winning their first. In the face of insurmountable odds. Because it had attentively studied and shepherded India’s group of exceptionally skilled singles players, India’s badminton fraternity correctly read the tea leaves.
Lakshya Sen overcame a week of getting thrashed by a slew of elite players, rallying from a set down to defeat Anthony Ginting 7-21, 21-17, 21-16 on the strength of a confident defence that morphed into aggressive swagger in the kills.
Then, in the most daring triumph of the tie, India’s doubles combo of Satwik and Chirag defeated Md Ahsan – Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21, 23-21, 21-19. Satwik Chirag, who had a history of blowing 20-18 leads this season, broke the pattern by prevailing from four match points away from loss. This was slowly fought back, with big guy Satwiksairaj bringing on his enormous powergame to help Chirag Shetty, the week’s jumping Energizer bunny who has believed more than anybody else.
The young Indians handed India a 2-0 lead by holding their nerve, playing brave badminton, and relying on their amazing talent.
Kidambi Srikanth, who is playing the match of his life, exudes quality. He won 21-15, 23-21 against Jonatan Christie, demonstrating his supremacy. At the net, there were several daring reaction returns. Jonatan Christie fought back in the second round. Then there came Kidambi Srikanth’s hallmark shot, an NFT worth in trad money or bitcoin: the setup smash and then the charging follow-up as he raced to the net for the matchpoint.
Srikanth’s smash, a crosscourt smash, a dipping, history-demanding, dominating, crosscourt, jump smash as he leaped in the air and time paused, gave India the Thomas Cup victory. Nobody could keep from leaping. Nobody could stop the tears from falling.
India. Thomas Cup winners. Who’d have guessed? The players and coaches certainly did.
