New Delhi: India registered a massive success in the Thomas Cup team tournament on Friday, reaching the first-ever final after a tough fight against Denmark, resulting in a 3-2 win. India reached the finals after outclassing Malaysia in the quarter-final and then the Danish team.
The celebration began after HS Prannoy won the last point against Rasmus Gemke in the deciding match of the semi-final tie at the Impact Arena in Thailand. Prannoy was firm enough and fought back from behind, beating the World No. 13-21, 21-9, 21-12 in a match that continued for an hour and 13 minutes.
His teammates were overjoyed while rushing to the court and hugging Prannoy as they celebrated the historic moment in Bangkok. Not a single Indian team had reached the final of the Thomas and Uber Cup until Friday, however, the young side led by Kidambi Srikanth came up with a massive effort against favourites and former champions Denmark.
On Thursday, India scripted history by securing their first-ever Thomas Cup medal but went a step ahead by booking a position in the final. India will have to fight against 14-time champions and holders Indonesia in the final on Sunday in Bangkok.
Badminton lovers took to social media to laud the efforts by the team and their first-ever entry to the final of the Thomas Cup.
See some of the praise-worthy tweets here:
It feels very special to witness the history and today team India has made into the finals of #ThomasCup 2022.
Come on boys #GoForGold #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/nlnginc2PU— Pramod Bhagat (@PramodBhagat83) May 13, 2022
Achievement Unlocked ? for India ?? at #ThomasCup2022
And the REACTION is priceless ?
? @bwfmedia#ThomasCup #TUC2022@BAI_Media @srikidambi @PRANNOYHSPRI @satwiksairaj @Shettychirag04 @lakshya_sen pic.twitter.com/Sp1pZ7UDax
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) May 13, 2022
Achievement Unlocked ? for India ?? at #ThomasCup2022
And the REACTION is priceless ?
? @bwfmedia#ThomasCup #TUC2022@BAI_Media @srikidambi @PRANNOYHSPRI @satwiksairaj @Shettychirag04 @lakshya_sen pic.twitter.com/Sp1pZ7UDax
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) May 13, 2022
Historic moment for Indian badminton. Kudos to HS Prannoy, what a comeback in the high-pressure match. India in the final of the #thomascup2022 with a 3-2 win over Denmark. India to face Indonesia in the final. @PRANNOYHSPRI @srikidambi @lakshya_sen @Shettychirag04 @satwiksairaj
— Rahul Rawat (@rawatrahul9) May 13, 2022
And history is created ! India reaches finals of Thomas cup this year ! What a team effort boys !!!! ??????????????? @Shettychirag04 @satwiksairaj @PRANNOYHSPRI @srikidambi @lakshya_sen #vishnuvardhanGoudPanjala #Krishnaprasadgaraga
— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) May 13, 2022
India through to the Thomas Cup final beating Denmark. Amazing!!!!
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) May 13, 2022
Wow! We have to pinch ourselves to believe this. India beat Denmark 3-2 to enter the Thomas Cup badminton final! Delightful to watch this team punch above its weight for two nights in-a-row. Just wow!
— G Rajaraman (@g_rajaraman) May 13, 2022
Yesss!!! Quite simply an incredible, historic win for India to reach the final of the Thomas Cup. Srikanth, Prannoy and the doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag have put in some consistent & colossal performances over the week to beat 2 powerhouses in Malaysia and Denmark ??? pic.twitter.com/RDnRTi9ikI
— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) May 13, 2022
Wow wow wow! ??? india reaches Thomas Cup finals! This is one of the most amazing moments in Indian sport! Salute to each of you badminton champs! Proud of all of you! @PRANNOYHSPRI @srikidambi @lakshya_sen @satwiksairaj @Shettychirag04
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) May 13, 2022
Beating the formidable Denmark team, India creates history by entering Thomas cup finals!! https://t.co/5RGocnrNF8
— Arvind Gupta (@buzzindelhi) May 13, 2022
Another HISTORIC WIN for #TeamIndia ??
Our BOYS ?? have done it again ??? re-writing history as they become the 1️⃣st-ever Indian Team to advance to the FINALS of #ThomasCup ?
Keep it coming guys ????
Superb Effort!!#TUC2022 pic.twitter.com/fbOZqvFyVz— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) May 13, 2022
After the loss of Lakshya Sen, the winner of the World Championships bronze medal to Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in straight games, India went down 0-1. However, the top-ranked duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made it 1-1 after defeating Kim Astrup and Mathias Christiansen 21-18 21-23 22-20 in a marathon battle.
Kidambi Srikanth helped India by giving the lead with an incredible win over World No. 4 Anders Antonsen. Srikanth won over Antonsen by 21-18, 12-21, 21-15.
However, the young doubles Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan Goud lost their double tie in straight games.
Additionally, Prannoy delivered in the decider beating Gemke in 3 games, helping India to secure a historic win.
