Bangkok : The men’s team comprising Kidambi Srikanth, Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty and HS Prannoy scripted a new breakthrough in Indian badminton history on Friday.
The Indian team, which defeated five-time champions Malaysia in the quarterfinals, created history by thrashing 2016 winners Denmark 3-2 on Friday to enter the final of the prestigious Thomas Cup. Indian team has reached the final of this tournament for the first time.
Won the match like this…
1. Lakshya Sen vs Axelsen : Denmark has the lead
In the opening singles match, however, world number one Viktor Axelsen beat Lakshya Sen 21-13, 21-13 in straight sets to give Denmark a 1-0 lead. Lakshya missed out on giving the team the lead in the quarterfinals as well.
2. Satwik-Chirag vs Kim-Mathias:
India draw: After trailing 0-1, Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their winning campaign to level India 1-1 in doubles. Satwik-Chirag defeated Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Matthias Christiansen 21-18, 21-23, 22-20.
3. Srikanth vs Antonsen:
India lead 2-1: Kidambi, popularly known as Killer Srikkanth, defeated Andres Antonsen 21-18, 12-21, 21-15 in three games in the second singles. Gave a 2-1 lead. With this, the team’s hopes of reaching the final also increased significantly.
4. Vishnu-Krishna vs. Frederic-Skarp:
Denmark draws 2-2: In the second doubles, however, the pair of Vishnuvardhan and Krishna Prasad suffered a loss. Denmark’s Andrés Skarp and Frédéric Gard beat the Indian pair 21-14, 21-13 in straight games to level the score 2-2. Now the whole burden was on HS Prannoy again.
5. Prannoy vs Gemke: India won 3-2 :
Prannoy created history by winning the third and deciding singles match here also, living up to the expectations of crores of countrymen. After losing the first game, Prannoy won the next two games to beat Rasmus Gemke 13-21, 21-9, 21-12 to propel India into the final.
14-time champion Indonesia will face in the final on 15 May :
Now in the final, the Indian team will face the record 14-time champion Indonesia team on Sunday 15 May. The team of Japan and Denmark had to be content with bronze medals.