Scarcely believable but true. What a performance this has been from the men's badminton team over the past week as they went past one opponent after the other. The path wasn't easy filled with higher ranked opponents throughout but every time they were cornered the team fought back and hung in there. Fighting off match points, coming from a game down and in case of Prannoy not even letting a bad fall come in the way. And with each passing day, having to ward off the myriad jinxers on the social media timeline as well (As a sports fan, I am a firm believer in the power of the jinx).
What a performance it was - especially from Srikanth, Satwik-Chirag, Prannoy & Lakshya. Just showcasing the depth in Indian Badminton - not just individual brilliance but the collective strength. Living true to adage of whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Now to rewind a few years. I first heard of the Thomas Cup back in the early 90s. It was more of a GK question back then – which sport is Thomas Cup associated with? At the time it was dominated by the usual big names – Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Korea, Denmark etc. For India, even qualifying for the main tournament was an achievement in itself! And now we are the Champions! What a journey this has been. The 2022 crown has just been a culmination of the Badminton’s steady rise since Gopichand’s All England win in 2001.
Now that we have tasted success, what next for Indian Badminton? Uber & Sudirman Cups should certainly be the next targets. And while we have had a steady flow of World Championships & Olympics medals in the past decade, certainly looking forward to winning more titles now. And the best part is all these are well within the grasp of this young Indian contingent!
What a lovely and inspiring sight it was to see the Indian Team with the Trophy and hearing the national anthem being played.
India – Thomas Cup 2022 Champions – that sounds right!
P.S. Pretty sure Voot & Sports18 subscriptions would have seen a significant bump in the past couple of days! I certainly did my bit!
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