1983 to 15 May 2022. The gap is close to four decades. But after making history in badminton by winning first Thomas Cup on Sunday by India, India’s coach Bimal Kumar took the example of June 25, 1983.
When Kapil Dev’s India reached the World Cup final for the first time at Lord’s, the opponent West Indies were two-time world champions. On Sunday, in the afternoon of the Thomas Cup final at the Impact Arena Stadium in Thailand for the first time India was going to play against the 14-time champion Indonesia! As World Cup-winning India captain Kapil Dev put it, “We are here to win the cup.”, before the final, Indian badminton coach Bimal said of Indonesia, which was in a good rhythm, “Indonesia is under pressure. We are not. Things could happen.” Like 83’s Greenwich, Lloyd, Richards, Garner, Marshall, this time the Indonesian doubles team was also strong in the Thomas Cup final. Their Kevin Sanjay Sukamuljo, Mohammad Ahsan, Hendra Setiawan are among the top two pairs in the world. There is also the world’s No. 7 doubles pair Fazr Alfian-Mohammad Ryan Ardinanto. As a result, India had a big test in doubles.
But with great power India passed that test. Despite falling behind in the first singles, Lakshya Sen defeated Anthony Sinisuka Ginting at 8-21, 21-17, 21 26 who was five steps ahead of him in the rankings. In the doubles, Sattviksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost 18-21 in the first game to Mohammad Ahsan-Kevin Sanjay Sukamuljo of Indonesia, but in the second game they fought back and made it 1-1 with a 23-21 victory. Even in the decisive game, Sattvik’s team fought hard and won 21-19 with a smile and made the result 2-0 for India. After that, Kidambi Srikanth made his dream come true by defeating Jonathan Christie, who is three steps ahead of him in the rankings at 21-15, 23-21. Courtesy of which, for the first time in history, India has won the Thomas Cup.
After winning 3-0 in the final, India’s coach Bimal Kumar said, “I am very proud to see this victory. I have seen in my lifetime that we too can win the Thomas Cup. This day reminds me of the 1983 World Cup cricket championship. He added, “After winning that World Cup, Indian cricket went a long way in one leap. The cricket culture of India changed. Winning this Thomas Cup will also bring a badminton revolution among the youths of India. “
Earlier, India’s best achievement in the Thomas Cup was 43 years ago. The campaign of Indian team’s Prakash Padukone, Syed Modi, Ler, Di’sa, Suman Mishra and Partha Gangopadhyay ended with a 2-7 loss to Denmark in the semi-finals.
This time, after making history, the whole of India was overflowing with joy on Sunday. Former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli’s message, “A historic moment in Indian badminton. Congratulations to everyone on winning the Thomas Cup.” Neeraj Chopra, who won gold in the first athletics last year at the Tokyo Olympics, was not left out top. Bollywood also took part in the congratulating wishes. Amitabh Bachchan wrote with picture of Thomas Cup winning Indian team, “India! India!! India..!!”