India lifts the Thomas Cup for the first time ever
India beat Indonesia 3-0 in the final of the Thomas Uber Cup, 2022.
Focus, grit, character, talent, skills, reflexes all were on display today as India won the Thomas Uber Cup by beating Indonesia in 3 consecutive games.
Lakshya Sen, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective games to give India an unassailable 3-0 lead.
First Match
In the first match, Lakshya Sen faced a stiff challenge against Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting.
The match started off on an equal note, with the Indonesian leading with just a single point.
But, after that, Ginting went on to win 12 straight points to put pressure on the young Indian shuttler.
Ginting won the first set of the final, 21-8.
Despite the early set loss, Sen was determined.
After a 46 shot rally that favored the Indian at the end, Sen found his confidence back as he won the second set 21-17.
The decider set was just as intense as the other two sets.
Unfortunately, at the midway break, Sen found himself down by points, Ginting leading 11-7.
Though, Sen was not out of the competition yet. In a magnificent comeback, the 20 year old star beat Anthony Ginting 21-16.
On the back of Sen’s win, India took a 1-0 lead in the final of the Thomas Uber Cup.
Catch the detailed highlights of the Sen’s match here: https://www.sportstrumpet.com/live-updates-thomas-cup-final-india-vs-indonesia/
Second Match
Next up, came the first doubles of the day. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy came face to face against Kevin Sukamuljo and Mohammad Ahsan.
The Indonesian pair took a string of points after India started off on the front foot. Ahsan and Kevin went on to win the first set, despite the best of the efforts from the Indian pair to make a comeback.
Shetty/ Rankireddy lost the first set, 18-21.
Second set started off in a similar manner, with the Indian pair leading 8-5 but, in amajor turnaround, Indonesia were 2 points off a victory!
The Indian pair dug deep, showed great character, strength and skills to save 4 match points and draw level at 19 apiece.
Even though the Indonesian pair reached 21 points first, there wasn’t a 2 point difference. India came from behind to win the set 23-21.
Just like the first game, the third and the decider set was set to decide the fate of the match.
Both teams traded blow for blow as the scoreboard read 18-18.
After an intense battle that lasted for 73 minutes, Rankireddy and Shetty put India on the verge of creating history, as the edged out Ahsan/ Kevin 21-19 in the decider set.
Catch the second match highlights here: https://www.sportstrumpet.com/india-vs-indonesia-thomas-cup-final-live-score-updates-india-take-1-0-lead-time-for-satwik-chirag/
Third Match
Kidambi Srikanth had the opportunity of guiding India to their first ever Thomas Cup, as he faced Jonathan Chirstie in the second singles of the day.
Srikanth was in top form, as he got a 8-3 lead in the early stages. Christie though, fought back to reduce the lead to just 2 points.
But, Christie was left in awe as Srikanth’s brilliant reflexes helped him recover from unfavorable situations to win the first set 21-15. He went on a run of 6 straight points to win the set.
This meant both, Srikanth and India were 1 set away from scripting history.
Christie started quick off the blocks but, Srikanth was not going to let him run away with the game. He was keeping in touch with his Indonesian counterpart.
Christie then showed off his reflexes to deny Srikanth the kill. Advantage for Christie. But, Christie could not capitalise as Srikanth came back to draw level.
Fortunately for India, Srikanth was able to kill off the game in the second set itself, as he beat Christie 23-21 to clinch the game.
This sparked celebrations all around as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead to win the Thomas Uber Cup. A historic moment for India in terms of Badminton.
As mentioned before, this truly is the golden generation for India’s badminton team.
A memorable win as India beat the defending Champions Indonesia. Fans and leaders took to social media to give their heartiest congratulations to the young talented players.
Even the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modiji had words of praise for the group that has done the country proud!
Seeing the Indian players dancing around, celebrating their iconic win is a sight to behold!
These boys have done the nation proud, heartiest congratulations on a memorable outing. To felicitate the Indian Squad on their achievement, Indian sports minister Anurag Thakur has announced a cash prize of 1 crore for the Indian Thomas Cup squad.
