India win historic first Thomas Cup by beating Indonesia 3-0 in Thailand
- India pull off a sterling performance to deny Indonesia, the tournament’s most successful team, of a 15th Thomas Cup title
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the praise back home saying ‘this win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersons’
India made history on Sunday by winning the Thomas Cup for the first time with a swift 3-0 upset over reigning champions Indonesia in Bangkok.
India’s first singles shuttler Lakshya Sen set the tone for the final with a strong comeback to beat Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in three sets.
India’s world No 8 doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty repeated the pattern in a more dramatic fashion, saving four match points in the second set to beat Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 2-1.
Indonesia’s dreams of their 15th Thomas Cup title and back-to-back championships were dashed when India’s Kidambi Srikanth built on the momentum and closed the match against Jonatan Christie in straight sets, delivering a historic victory for India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter the team had “scripted history” and personally rang the team in the Thai capital to congratulate them.
“The entire nation is elated by India winning the Thomas Cup!” he tweeted. “This win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersons.”
On Saturday, South Korea stunned defending champions China to win the prestigious Uber Cup in an epic battle that went down to the wire.
The holders were aiming for a 16th title in the women’s team championship but with the nations deadlocked at 2-2, it all came down to a singles match between China’s 15th-ranked Wang Zhiyi and 46th-ranked Sim Yu-jin.
It was a hugely disappointing conclusion for China, who had jumped out to an early lead in the tie when Chen Yufei sealed a spectacular come-from-behind win against An Se-young in a marathon match full of drama.
The next Thomas and Uber Cup will be held in Chengdu, China in 2024.
