When one looks at the history of Indian badminton, the dominance by the female contingent in the past decade has been exceptional. Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu won three Olympic medals, with Sindhu clinching even the BWF World Championships. The men, on the other hand, were playing catch-up. Although Dinesh Khanna secured bronze in the 1966 Kingston Commonwealth Games and 1974 Asiad in Tehran, it was not until Prakash Padukone’s 1980 All England Championship win which put India men’s badminton on the world map.
The exploits of Padukone gave wings to Pullela Gopichand, who secured bronze in the Asiad and Commonwealth Games. Moreover, he repeated Padukone’s feat and won the All England Championship in 2001. But, ever since that time, India men’s badminton has lagged behind. When it came to the big tournaments in badminton, it was the women folk who dominated as the 21st century rumbled on.
One has to understand how the Badminton tour dynamics are. The Thomas and Uber Cup, All England Championships, The World Championships and Sudirman Cup are like the Grand Slams of Badminton like Tennis. Thus, apart from the All England and World Championships, India’s performance in the Thomas and Uber Cup was negligible.
WHY THOMAS AND UBER CUP IS SO IMPORTANT?
The Thomas and Uber Cup tournament is in the bracket of the BWF 1000 tournament, along with All England and World Championships. There are maximum points, rankings and prize money at stake for both singles and doubles. This is a very unique tournament for both skill sets. Ever since India’s maiden semi-final appearance in 1952, they have flattered to deceive.
India was also not helped by a complex zonal qualification. It also coincided with the time where the talent pool following Padukone’s retirement was pretty low. Even the likes of Gopichand and Dipankar Bhattacharjee tried. But, at that time, the rise of Indonesia, Malaysia and China on the Badminton stage was meteoric. The Thomas and Uber Cup was the grand stage for their dominance. Consider this, from 1990 to 2020, Indonesia, Malaysia and China won 13 out of 15 editions. The performances of China, Malaysia and Indonesia in Thomas Cup established their dominance in the Asian Games and Olympics.
INDIA UPSET THE ODDS
Heading into the 2022 Thomas Cup, India was the rank outsiders. They were paired with Chinese Taipei, Germany and Canada. They lost to Chinese Taipei and that put them in a difficult proposition with Malaysia. The five-time champions had big-game experience. But, under this Indian team, they had two mottos. They never gave up and were not intimidated.
The prime example was HS Prannoy. He had lost the first game and was injured in the second against Rasmus Gemke in the final encounter in the semifinal. Playing with pain, he decided that he would not get bogged down with the injuries. For three years, Prannoy was laid low by injuries. But, he was not going to get intimidated. Through pure skill, Prannoy laid the foundation for greater glory. The way he channelled the ‘HSP, HSP’chants at the Impact Arena was a sight for sore eyes.
Consider the final itself when Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were four match points down against Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sukalmujo. They never gave up and kept up the attacking momentum. The way how they turned the tables on their opponent was simply fantastic.
Prannoy’s attitude, the never-say-die attitude of Rankireddy and Chirag as well as the big game experience of Kidambi all fell into play. When Lakshya Sen finally stepped up and beat Anthony Ginting, the icing on the cake was achieved.
When one looks at improbable moments in Indian sport, the Thomas Cup gold is right up there. The 1983 World Cup win in cricket, the men and women’s hockey exploits in Tokyo 2021, the 2007 World T20, Leander Paes’ bronze are all moments which charted a new course in the sport. The Thomas Cup win is a glorious addition to a whole new chapter in Indian sport.
