Indian team won the Thomas Cup for the first time after defeating Indonesia in the final match yesterday.
India's men's badminton team scripted history as they won Thomas Cup for the first time in history by defeating 14-time champions Indonesia in a tense game yesterday.
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But winning this cup wasn't easy as the Indian contingent had to face tough challengers from its various opponents at the various stages of the tournament. Indian team played a total of 6 games in this tournament along with finals and lost only 1 game that came against Chinese Taipei. India's road to victory to clinch its first-ever Thomas Cup.
1. India vs Germany - Game 1
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The Indian men's badminton team began its Thomas Cup campaign in an emphatic manner, thrashing Germany 5-0. World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen started the proceeding with an easy 21-16 21-13 win over world no 64 Max Weisskirchen.
HS Prannoy, ranked 23rd in the world, then hardly broke a sweat as he completed a 5-0 whitewash of Germany, with a 21-9 21-9 win over Matthias Kicklitz.
2. India vs Canada - Game 2
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The Indian men’s badminton team continued impressive form in the group stage of the Thomas Cup as they won 5-0 against Canada during their 2nd group match of the Thomas Cup.
India played with a second-string team as Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila were given rests. However, the team led by Kidambi Srikanth continued its unbeaten run, after defeating Germany 5-0 in the first group match on Sunday.
With its win over Canada, India qualified for the knockout stage along with 1 game to go in the group stage against Chinese Taipei.
3. India vs Chinese Taipei - Game 3
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India missed out on the top spot in Group C of Thomas Cup 2022 after losing to Chinese Taipei in their final group-stage tie despite putting up a strong fight in Bangkok on Wednesday, May 11.
However, India already qualified for the quarter-finals after comprehensive 5-0 wins over Germany and Canada 5-0.
4. Inia vs Malaysia - Quaterfinal
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India confirmed its first-ever Thomas Cup medal after beating five-time champion Malaysia 3-2 in a thrilling quarterfinal. H S Prannoy beat Leong Jun Hao 21-13, 21-8 in the third and deciding singles after the quarterfinal was tied at 2-2 at the end of both doubles and two singles matches.
5. India vs Denmark - Semifinal
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HS Prannoy defeated Rasmus Gemke in a thrilling comeback as India beat Denmark 3-2 to reach the final of the Thomas Cup for the first time ever. Prannoy went down 13-21 in the first game, but came back to win the second 21-9. He kept up his momentum and won the deciding game 21-12.
6. India vs Indonesia - Final
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Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth won it for India in three straight games. History was made as Team India went on to defeat 14 times champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup Final 2022 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
READ: India create history, defeat 14-time champions Indonesia in Thomas Cup final
In the all-important fifth match and HS Prannoy stood up to the occasion and won against Rasmus Gemke 21-13, 21-9 to give India a memorable 3-2 win.
