‘This is one huge victory’

Indonesia scored a selfgoal and committed harakiri There was no logical reason to field a scratch combination for the first doubles at the Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok on SundayDoubles is a team game with partners knowing exactly what the other one is doing It takes years of practice The 14time champions gunning for the 15th title dug their own graveMarcus Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo have won every one of their 11 encounters Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan play together but Ahsan partnered Sukamuljo who normally pairs up with Marcus Gideon and this pair have won every one of the encounters against the IndiansIt was an opportunity that Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy embraced with glee and won the crucial first doubles which enabled India to win the Thomas Cup I would say itrsquos a victory which is on par with the cricket World Cup of 1983 On paper India had no business to reach the finals No one gave the team a ghost of a chanceA win from nowhereEven in the group stage they were the No 2 India lost to Chinese Taipei and finished second and then to stun Malaysia Denmark and Indonesia was something remarkable Legend Prakash Padukone said ldquoThis is one huge victorymdashcomprehensive and completemdash in every way It is going to make badminton a very popular sport in India I am indeed very happy I must confess however that I did not expect India to win the Cup so fast I thought winning the Cup is some eight to 10 years away But to get it now and in this style is simply amazinglsquoMost balanced team everrsquoldquoTo defeat three top teams in a row is stunning I also think this was the most balanced team ever for Indiardquo The badminton great singled out Shetty and Satwiksairaj for major applause ldquoIf we can have player of the series in badminton then I will name these two doubles players who did a great job They sensed that the scratch combination can be handled and they went for the jugular carving out a tense threegame victory to take India to point number twordquoPrakash PadukoneFormer chief coach Vimal Kumar who trains Lakshya Sen at the Padukone academy in Bangalore said that HS Prannoy was simply outstanding ldquoLook at the way he controls the proceedings We won against Malaysia and Denmark by the skin of our teeth thanks to Prannoy He is courageous in his stroke selection and enjoys a good fight on the courtldquoAgainst Denmarkrsquos Rasmus Gemke Prannoy had a slight ankle twist while going for a deep lift from the net area off his backhand But instead of thinking negatively he played one of the most controlled innings ever seen Like a puppet master he controlled the movements of Gemke with very clever game never losing sight of the goal and that was to win the Thomas CuprdquoPrannoy has defeated every top name in the game in his glittering career Names like Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and the greatest of them allmdashLin Dan of Chinamdashall have bitten the dust at his balletic feet When in full flow Prannoy is sheer poetry in motion lovely to watchSteely Sen started it allSen endured food poisoning and had to take couple of days rest For the first singles position he was about to become irrelevant as weakness engulfed him He had lost to singles specialists from China Taipei Malaysia and Denmark and it seemed he would return home with no victory to his name But then what a turnaroundLosing the first game 921 he went into overdrive in the second and on turbo charge in the decider moving around with awesome speed he carved a great win against Anthony Ginting taking India ahead 10 He played like a man possessed and he played his best badminton ever Kidambi Srikanth the cool dude plays classical badminton The former World No1 was in devastating form at Bangkok And against Jonatan Christie in the finals he played superb badmintonThe net dribbles and counters the signature high jump to deliver bullet smashes or reverse swing drops were all there getting him points when needed Christie the Asian Games gold medallist of 2018 and silver medallist at Asian Championships in Manila recently was a tough nut to crack But playing to a plan Kidambi carved out point after point with ease to win 2115 2321And now to HS Prannoy I asked him what flashed through his mind when he got hurt He said ldquoIt did come to my mind that I should leave this match But then I saw all the eager youngsters waiting with bated breath for an Indian victory and I said to myself that for them that is the Indian fan and for my fellow players I simply had to go into the arena and play my best There was no other optionrdquolsquoWe owe it to the countryrsquoHe added ldquoThe Indian team are playing for Indiarsquos glory The nation has done so much for us It is now payback time We owe it to the country We can sacrifice any cash prize money tournament for national duty by playing team championships like Thomas Cup Sudirman Cup Commonwealth and Asian Games team eventsrdquoTweet talkPresident Ram Nath KovindrashtrapatibhvnHeartiest congratulations to the Indian badminton team for firstever Thomas Cup victory The team has created history setting highest standards for the future I have high appreciation for the skills resilience amp temperament shown by the team India is proud of the championsNarendra ModinarendramodiThe Indian badminton team has scripted history The entire nation is elated by India winning the Thomas Cup Congratulations to our accomplished team and best wishes to them for their future endeavours This win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersonsAbhinav BindraAbhinav_BindraWhat a historic day An incredible achievement by an incredible Team India to win the ThomasCup for the first time ever Bounced back from tough situations on numerous occasions to win Gold Kudos to all the players and coaches Champions all of youSaina NehwalNSainaCongratulations TEAM INDIA Menrsquos Team for winning the THOMAS CUP TitleGreat winTaapsee PannutaapseeHistory India wins Thomas cup the first time they reached finals Take a bow boysSachin Tendulkarsachin_rtHistoric moment for all Indians What a day for Indian Badminton Congratulations to the whole team on winning our maiden ThomasCup titleVirat KohliimVkohliA historic achievement and a massive moment for Indian badminton Congratulations Team India on winning the Thomas Cup