'Nothing is impossible': Lakshya Sen on India's historic Thomas Cup 2022 win
May 17, 2022
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 17 : Badminton player Lakshya Sen, who created history for India on May 15 by winning the Thomas Cup, returned home to the capital city of Karnataka on Monday night.
Lakshya Sen expressed his happiness and pride in winning the Thomas Cup trophy for the very first time, after reaching at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru.
"It's a really proud moment for India; everyone came together as a team," the Thomas Cup Winner told ANI.
Lakshya also shared his journey to victory, despite facing health issues and losing first round the first game.
"At the beginning of the tournament, my upset stomach affected me with the energy levels on the court. I couldn't give my 100 per cent... then I had to really play in the quarter and semi-finals... I tried my level best to recover and go all out in the finals," he said.
He said that the finals were a totally different atmosphere altogether as he managed to turn the things in second and third round.
"The finals were a totally different atmosphere altogether. The match wasn't a really good start for me as I lost the first game... I believe I really turned things around in the second and third game. I was nervous during the closing stage but I played safe and didn't rush," Lakshya said.
He said that 'nothing is impossible' and the performer should not think about the results.
"We didn't think that we'll go this far in the tournament but one thing was sure, we knew we can beat any team. Let's just go one match at a time and not think about the results... nothing is impossible," he added.
In what was India's first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, Indian Badminton team 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.
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.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has also announced Rs 5 lakh reward from the State government for Thomas Cup winner Lakshya Sen.
