The Indian shuttlers created history on Friday, May 13, when they beat Denmark in the semifinals of the Thomas Cup and reached the final of the competition for the first time in their history. With the scores tied at 2-2, the onus for the victory fell on HS Prannoy, who was facing world number 13 Rasmus Gemke. However, the game did not start on a good note for the 29-year-old, who suffered an injury after slipping on the frontcourt while going for a return.
Despite the injury, Prannoy continued after taking a medical timeout to upset Gemke 13-21, 21-9, 21-12 and secure a historic 3-2 win for the Indian men's shuttlers. "Mentally, there were a lot of things going on in my head. After the slip, it was hurting more than usual and I was not able to lunge properly I was thinking about what to do.
"In my mind, it was always coming that I should not give up, just try and see how it goes. Was praying that the pain doesn't get aggravated and it started to reduce towards the second game and by the third, I was feeling much better," Prannoy said after the tie.
Prior to Friday's victory, the Indians had never gone past the semifinals of the Thomas Cup after 1979, but they showed tremendous fighting spirit on the night to outwit the 2016 champions.
"The tactics which we used in the second and third game was very crucial. The strategy was to keep the pressure on and I knew if I come into the second half with a good lead, there is a big chance to get the game. And I just told myself to push these 11 points possible and the strategy worked," he said.
After an opening match loss for Lakshya Sen to World no. 1 Viktor Axelsen, world championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth and world number 8 doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept India in the race to equal the tie 2-2 before the challenge fell on the shoulders of Prannoy.
India will play 14-time champions Indonesia in the title clash on Sunday. The final opponents edged out Japan in their semifinal tie, beating them 3-2 in their clash.
