Hyderabad: It's the hard work behind the scenes that leads to an outcome such as the Thomas Cup win. As for the impact, the victory that is being compared to India's next '1983 moment' may redefine the sport that is still struggling for the number one slot in India's sporting hierarchy.
The game of cricket still attracts the strongest of footfalls at the stadium and a million eyeballs to the television sets. However, Sunday was different. News channels and social media flocked for updates on the tournament while the IPL was underway, flashing images of the players frequently and throwing engaging captions.
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Inspirational @srikidambi was the hero for Team 🇮🇳 with plays like this 👇#TotalEnergiesBadminton #ThomasUberCups #Bangkok2022 pic.twitter.com/joC1TVXJeS
— BWF (@bwfmedia) May 15, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Inspirational @srikidambi was the hero for Team 🇮🇳 with plays like this 👇#TotalEnergiesBadminton #ThomasUberCups #Bangkok2022 pic.twitter.com/joC1TVXJeS
— BWF (@bwfmedia) May 15, 2022Inspirational @srikidambi was the hero for Team 🇮🇳 with plays like this 👇#TotalEnergiesBadminton #ThomasUberCups #Bangkok2022 pic.twitter.com/joC1TVXJeS
— BWF (@bwfmedia) May 15, 2022
Years of relentless practice and training guided by the mentorship of coaches that work tirelessly and selflessly behind the scenes had notched up a lopsided 3-0 victory for India over Indonesia.
And India's chief national coach of badminton, Pullela Gopichand, is nothing but proud.
Read: I will rate this as one of my biggest wins: Srikanth
"It augurs well for Indian badminton," he tells ETV Bharat over the telephone, brimming with pride.
Badminton, steadily, has been able to successfully create a fan base for itself which was reflected Sunday as the political class, sporting fraternity, entertainment industry, and the corporate sector scrambled over to congratulate the athletes on achieving the historic feat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi even called and applauded the team over their victory, inviting them to his residence.
This achievement is different, not only because the triumph is the biggest since 1979 but also because it was a collective effort where individuals shone and pushed the bar high to give Indians the reason to celebrate the sport that has been gaining ground since Saina Nehwal burst onto the scene back in 2012 London Olympics.
"It's wonderful to see this victory because in the world of badminton to actually win a Thomas Cup is something really big. Each of the members played really well," the national coach said.
Fast-rising Laksya Sen, World Championship medallist Kidambi Srikanth and doubles player Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's brilliance meant India beat 14-time champions Indonesia. While Gopichand credited all of them for their exhilarating effort on the court, he doesn't fail to mention HS Prannoy's effort who went through pain but kept cool to deliver a creditable performance, helping India's challenge.
Prannoy battled an ankle injury to help his team win 3-2 in the semifinals against Denmark taking the Indian badminton contingent to its first-ever title clash in the tournament.
"For Satwik and Chirag to pull off the doubles match and Lakshya and Srikanth to pull off the singles, was phenomenal. The way Prannoy has played in the entire event was really great, going through pain and pushing through barriers, and delivering is something that is wonderful," Gopichand, who trains Pronnoy at his academy, said.
Read: Historic title triumph: India stun Indonesia 3-0 to win Thomas Cup
For Kidambi Srikanth, as described in his own words during the press conference, the win was about "10 players", and everyone stepped in. Srikanth has been in the form of his life winning silver at the World Championship in Spain last December.
"I will rate this one of my biggest wins and I am happy that everyone played extremely well. I don't think this is one individual's win, it is about all 10 players, Everyone stepped up when it mattered," he said.
One of the country's best shuttlers, Srikanth remained unbeaten throughout the fixture, and winning for the country has been the biggest motivating factor. He described the win as a "special feeling".
"In any major event be it Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Thomas and Uber Cup, or world championships, none of them have prize money. But when you win, in this tournament, this is for the country, After we won, people said India won Thomas Cup, it was not Srikanth or Prannoy," he said.
And for Gopichand, players should rejoice in the glory even as he looks ahead at the shining future India has now.
"The win would definitely boost the confidence of our players and our team to do well in the future," he signed off.
