Today it’s been a grand day for India. India has won the Thomas Cup for the first time defeating the 14 times champion team Indonesia. India was in full form from the beginning of this series. India was like a shuttle-like Australia used to be in cricket during the 1990s.
Indonesia was a very tough contender to play with but the Indian badminton team played commendably well and toppled every other team just like the 1983 Indian cricket team which eventually led India win the world cup under Kapil Dev. Previously the Indonesian team had won 14 times the Thomas Cup. India was off for a perfect start as Lakshya Sen defeated Anthony Ginting by 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 with an energetic tie. India’s double pairs Satwik and Chirag defeated Ahsan-Sukamuljo. It was the most sensational victory of their carrier. They gave India a grand 2-0 lead. In the third game too Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jonathan Christie by 21-15, 23-21 to make it 3-0. The biggest plus point of the Indian team was they have not lost even a single match.
There was a deep belief in the players mind and as well as the coaches mind, who have been training the boys since a long time, that this time the Indian time is in full form and will definitely win. This was the first time ever that India made to the semi finals and subsequently winning the finals was definitely a dream come true moment for the entire Tomas Cup Indian Badminton team and the eager and excited spectators too. India has never won a Tomas Cup Badminton championship ever since the game started. So, indeed, it’s been a treat for the badminton fans and proud Indians. This time seasoned and technical sophisticated strokes, fabulous strategy finally led India to a historic win. But unofficially in the world of badminton the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup is believed to be the benchmarks of being a gold standard.
Vimal Kumar, who had dreamed of playing in a Thomas Cup final at least once after hearing stories from Prakash Padukone, was among the support personnel. Mohammad Siyadatullah, a friendly coach from Gopichand's academy who has coached Srikanth, Prannoy, and Satwik-Chirag since they were teenagers, was also present for the important singles. Veteran coach Vijaydeep Singh and youngster Arun Vishnu, who has coached the doubles players, were also part of the planning team.
Vimal Kumar said, “Right from the beginning, it was made clear to the players that we have a very balanced team and each one, whether in singles or doubles, has beaten the best. Hence we needed to firmly believe that we were at par with any of the best nations that had won the Thomas Cup before,”. A very good analysis of the strength and weaknesses of the opponent team, good strategies, ample practice and proper guidance has helped the team to win in the end of the day.
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