The Indian men's team won the final of the Thomas Cup 2022, a look at the squad that registered their names in history.
Surely it was a historic event on Sunday for the Indian Men's badminton team in Thailand after they not only reached the final of the Thomas Cup 2022 for the very first time but also won it. While the team and fans are cheering and rooting for the side, the men made sure to complete their job.
Placed in Group C of the Thomas Cup, India faced Chinese Taipei, Germany and Canada. They, with their stellar squad, covered all bases and made it to the semi-final.
In the semi-final, India met a tough challenge in the face of Denmark, but Lakshya Sen and Co emerged victoriously and will play Indonesia in the final. The Indian team, which had never gone past the semi-final stage after 1979, has shown tremendous fighting spirit after they outwit the 2016 champions.
Now, as the side won the final, a look at the team that has registered their names in history.
1. Lakshya Sen
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World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen in the quarter-final had faced Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the quarter-finals and had lost his game 21-23 and 9-21.
In the semi-final, he faced World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. The young Indian lad gave a tough fight but lost 13-21, 13-21.
However, in the final, he defeated Anthony Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 to give India a 1-0 lead.
(Photo: Lakshya Sen Twitter)
2. Kidambi Srikanth
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World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth had faced Ng Tze Yong of Malaysia in the quarter-finals and had won the clash 21-11, 21, 17.
For the semi-finals, he faced Anders Antonsen of Germany and helped India draw 1-1 after winning 21-18, 12-21 and 21-15.
Kidambi Srikanth had sealed the deal for India as he beat Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 in the second singles. This game was enough for India to win their maiden trophy in the history of the competition.
(Photo: Twitter)
3. HS Prannoy
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Swiss Open finalist HS Prannoy has played the deciding game on two occasions. In the quater-finals, he had defeated Mayalsia's Leong Jun Hao 21-13, 21-8.
During the semis against Denmark, he faced Rasmus Gemke when both countires were tied at 2-2. He went on to win the game 13-21, 21-9, 21-12.
(Photo: HS Prannoy Twitter)
4. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
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Top-ranked Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have proved time and again why they are the best. The boys in the quarter-finals against Malaysia faced Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin and won 21-19, 21-15.
In the semi-finals, they faced a tough game against Denmark's Kim Astrup and Mathias Christiansen. They won the first game 21-18 but lost the second 21-23. However, the third game was the decider in which the pair won 22-20.
In the doubles match, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty registered a come-from-behind to win 18-21, 23-21, 21-19 against Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
(Photo: Twitter)
5. MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan Goud and Priyanshu Rajawat
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Priyanshu Rajawat and the duos Arjun-Kapila and Krishna-Vishnuvardhan had made it to the team after coming on top at the Badminton Association of India (BAI) National selection trials held in New Delhi between April 15 and 20.
The shuttlers have also played some games in between helping India progress to the final.
(Photo: Lakshya Sen Twitter)
