Home LATEST After 73 years since the first tournament, India win first-ever Thomas Cup

After 73 years since the first tournament, India win first-ever Thomas Cup

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India dethroned 14-time champions Indonesia to clinch the first-ever Thomas Cup title in Men’s Badminton.

In its 73-year-long history, India had never reached the final of the Thomas Cup till this year. With new talents supported by experienced shuttlers, the Indian Men’s Badminton team scored above other nations in this edition to become only the 6th nation after China, Indonesia, Japan, Denmark, and Malaysia to win the Thomas Cup title.

India did not need the second doubles match and the third singles match as Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikant won their respective singles match while Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the doubles match to give India a 3-0 win over Indonesia. 

In the first match of the tie, which lasted for 65 minutes, World Number 9 Lakshya Sen won 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 in his square off against World Number 4 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were up against Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the second match of the tie. They lost the first game 18-21 and later saved four match points in the second to make a sensational comeback. They won the last two games 21-23, 21-19 in a match that lasted 73 minutes. India led by 2-0.

As Kidambi Srikanth beat Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 in the third match of the tie, it was history for India. With chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and the sound of Dhol reverberating at the whole stadium, the Indian players celebrated with joy being the first team to win the Thomas Cup.

India’s Road to the Title

Group Match 1- Beat Germany by 5-0

Group Match 2- Beat Canada by 5-0

Group Match 3- Lost to Chinese Taipei by 2-3

Quarter Finals- Beat Malayasia (5-time champion) by 3-2

Semi Finals- Beat Denmark (2016 champion) by 3-2

Final- Beat Indonesia (14-time champion) by 3-0

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PoulomiKundu started her career in 2000 as a freelance journalist in Hindustan Times. Soon after she was selected an intern in Zee News, Kolkata. After her post- graduation in English, Poulomi joined the leading television production house of eastern India, Rainbow Productions. She was a journalist in Khas Khobor, a Bengali news magazine programme in Doordarshan and also headed the post production department of another programme, Khas Kolkata. In 2004, Poulomi moved to Delhi as a creative writer in an advertising agency, Brand Stewards Pvt. Ltd. In 2005, she again shifted her base for a better opportunity and that in Mumbai. There she got the job in Raa Media Pvt Ltd. as an associate director of two programmes for Doordarshan-Yuva and Paisa Vasool. In the meantime, she also wrote features in DNA as a freelancer. Poulomi directs promotional videos, develops scripts for films for Corporate and NGOs. But an ardent sports lover, Poulomi always had an urge to contribute somewhere in the field of sports. Her love for sports started from an early age when she played gully cricket and football for local teams. Academics and professional hazards sometimes took her away from her passion, but it never died in her. She always nurtured the never-ending dream. So she materialized her dream in the form of ‘SPORTSAVOUR’. It is an online sports portal that serves sports with the tagline ‘For the indigenous, unconventional, unknown’.

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