Amit Shah congratulates Indian badminton team for clinching its first-ever Thomas Cup
May 15, 2022
New Delhi [India], May 15 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday congratulated the Indian badminton team which made history by clinching the Thomas Cup trophy for the first time in Thailand.
"India clinched the Thomas Cup. A momentous day for the Indian Badminton team that will be etched in the annals of our sports history. I congratulate our entire team on this great accomplishment. Every Indian is immensely proud today," tweeted Shah.
Many other politicians from centre and state governments took to social media to congratulate the team for the monumental win.
Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated the team for the victory, tweeting, "Congratulate #TeamIndia for their historic win in men's Badminton in the Thomas Cup. A real inspiration for so many young Indians."
"The Indian badminton team today won the Thomas Cup for the first time by defeating Indonesia. With its excellent performance, the badminton team has made 130 crore Indians proud. Congratulations!," tweeted the Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri also took to social media to extend his congratulations to the Thomas Cup-winning team.
"India's brilliant show at international sporting arenas continues with unbreakable spirit and enthusiasm. Indian shutters script history by winning the first-ever Thomas Cup Final. Heartiest congratulations to our champions!," he tweeted.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath also tweeted, "Historic victory! Hearty congratulations to the Indian badminton team for winning the Thomas Cup. Best wishes to all the team members for a bright future. Jai Hind!."
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also took to Twitter to congratulate the Thomas Cup winning team India, saying, "Soaring to a New High Congratulations Team India on scripting history by winning #ThomasCup, first time in the 73-year-history of this prestigious badminton team tournament. You've all made us immensely proud. Keep the flag flying high @BAI_Media"
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also congratulated the Indian team. He tweeted, "India wins #ThomasCup for the first time by beating 14-time Champion Indonesia. This is a red-letter day for Indian Sports. My hearty congrats to all the players who helped India to script this truly historic victory."
Indian badminton team created history on Sunday as they lifted the Thomas Cup trophy for the very first time.
In what was India's first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, they defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand by 3-0 to lift the coveted trophy.
No Indian team has previously reached the final of the Thomas and Uber Cup in its 70-plus year history. Indian men reached the Thomas Cup semi-finals in 1952, 1955 and 1979 while the women's team made it to the Uber Cup top-four in 2014 and 2016.
India finished second in Group C behind Chinese Taipei to qualify for the knockout stage, where they came up on top against strong Malaysian and Danish teams in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.
Starting the tie, Lakshya Sen clinched the first point for India after defeating Anthony Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.
Ginting looked fast, accurate and extremely dangerous in the opening stage, enjoying a twelve-point run, to claim the opening game 21-8 in just 17 minutes. But Lakshya Sen responded brilliantly in the second game to take the match to the decider, by winning it 21-17.
Sen completed the comeback by winning the match 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.
In the second match of the tie, the Indonesian scratch pairing of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo got off to the right start after winning their opening match 21-18.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then survived four match points to come back and snatch the win in the second game, 23-21. Indians won the deciding game to clinch the match 18-21, 23-21, 21-19.
In the third match of the tie, India's Kidambi Srikanth took the opening game against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-15 and clinched the match and final by winning the second game 23-21.
The Indian team, featuring Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and others, have given a good account of themselves at this year's tournament.
