Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the 2022 Thomas Cup final between India and Indonesia. This is Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfurls at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
MATCH OVERVIEW
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First Singles: Lakshya Sen wins 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting First Doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Mohammad Ahsan/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo Second Singles: Kidambi Srikanth vs Jonatan Christie Second Doubles*: M.R. Arjun/Dhruv Kapila vs Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto Third Singles*: H S Prannoy vs Shesar Hiren Rhustavito *= if necessary |
First doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Mohammad Ahsan/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
FIRST GAME
18-21: They only needed one. Opening game goes to Ahsan and Sukamuljo.
18-20: Two game points for Indonesians.
18-19: Clutch serve from Chirag. Just over the net and he finishes with a quick kill.
16-19: Chirag lets it go but to his despair, the shuttle lands in the alley.
16-18: Four straight points for the Indian pair. Who saw that coming!
14-18: Best rally of this match so far as both teams play patiently before Ahsan misjudges Chirag’s lift which lands well inside the baseline.
12-17: A flurry of jump smashes from the back of the court by Chirag and he eventually draws a weak return from the Indonesians.
11-17: CHALLENGE: It looked like Satwik’s serve was short and the replay shows that it indeed was. Indians waste a challenge.
10-16: Indonesians have stretched their lead to six points. Talk about momentum.
10-14: Excellent drop shot from Ahsan sets up the rally and Sukamuljo kills it easily.
10-13: Another careless error from Chirag as he buries one into the net.
10-11: Indians resume the game by winning another point courtesy of a strong body smash from Satwik on Ahsan.
9-11: Satwik gets too eager and hits the smash into the net. Ahsan and Sukamuljo with a two-point lead at the mid-game interval.
8-8: Satwik’s body smash is too strong for Sukamuljo and his return goes wayward.
7-7: Not for long. Error at the net from Ahsan.
6-7: Indonesians move ahead as Sukamuljo catches Satwik off guard with a cross court smash.
5-4: Indonesians were in all sorts of trouble as they lad left the back court empty but somehow, they defend one smash after another from Chirag and the Indian hits one into the net.
4-2: Shetty makes it look like he is going for the body smash at Sukamuljo but at the end moment, goes cross court and hits Ahsan.
2-2: Short serve from Satwik.
1-0: Shetty easily kills a lose return from the Indonesians.
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Warm-up is done. All set for first doubles!
After a SENsational start from Lakshya start, the dynamic duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to extend India’s lead when it faces makeshift Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
Here’s the match-up:
Like the Malaysians, and Denmark before them, Indonesia is fielding a scratch pairing – Kevin Sanjaya usually partners Marcus Gideon, while Mohammad Ahsan is paired with Hendra Setiawan. While Indonesia would have loved to go with the two original pairings, an injury to Gideon has forced a rethink.
Although Indonesia fielded Sanjaya with Bagas Maulana in the tie against Thailand, every subsequent match has seen one of the minions (Kevin and Gideon) partner Ahsan. While the original pairings were almost unbeatable, scratch pairs are invariably vulnerable.
Sanjaya and Ahsan went down to Kang Minhyuk and Seo Seungjae of Korea before beating the World No. 4 pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the semis. But that was a hard match in which they were down three game points in the opener and a match point in the decider before sneaking out a 22-20, 8-21, 24-22 win.
All this means Chirag Shetty and Satwik Rankireddy, who otherwise had a dismal 0-11 record against the combination of Kevin and Gideon and lost 2-3 record against Ahsan and Setiawan, will go into their doubles tie having won their only tie against Sanjaya and Ahsan – 18-21, 21-18, 24-22 in the Badminton Asia Championships in 2018.
First singles: Lakshya Sen wins 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 against Anthony Ginting
Yas yas yasssssssss @lakshya_sen you beauty !!
1-0 – India
Come onnnnnnnnnnnnn
— PRANNOY HS (@PRANNOYHSPRI) May 15, 2022
THIRD GAME
21-16: Lakshya wins the final battle of the net chords to give India 1-0 lead.
20-16: Four match points for Lakshya as Ginting drives it wide.
18-16: Ginting’s body smash draws a weak return from Lakshya as the shuttle flies off the court. Two point game.
18-14: Lakshya is on a roll now! Goes for the flick serve, gets the lift from Ginting and ends it with a smash.
16-14: Lakshya makes Ginting go deep with a lovely drive and then finished the point with a cross-court backhand drop shot.
15-14: Lakshya tries the flick serve but Ginting is on to it in a flash with a jump smash down the line.
14-13: Net chord. Ginting had alll the time in the world to kill the point but instead, hits it into the net chord and the shuttles return to his side of the court.
13-12: Lakshya leads for the first time in this game as he directs his drives at Ginting who hits one into the net.
12-12: Parity restored. Lakshya finally gets one to land out of Ginting’s reach.
11-12: One point game. Excellent drop shot from Lakshya.
10-12: Ginting tries to deceive Lakshya with a quick drive but ends up hitting the net.
9-12: Ginting’s down-the-line smashes are missing THE LINE by miles.
8-11: Wayword smash from Ginting. Lakshya wins the point after some brilliant bit of defending at the net.
7-11: After a couple of net shots, Ginting lifts it, Lakshya goes back but looks like he slipped while playing the smash which hits the net.
7-9: Lakshya surprises Ginting with a smash down the centre of the court and draws a weak return from the Indonesian.
6-9: Short lift from Lakshya and Ginting finishes it with a straighter kill shot.
6-8: Lakshya ups the pace and ends the rally with a cross court smash.
5-8: Ginting plays it deep into Lakshya’s forehand, gets the desired lift and sends it down the middle of the court.
4-7: Difficult net shot from Lakshya but he executes it perfectly.
3-7: Ginting engages Lakshya in the net shots, get the lift and then whacks the shuttle with a jump smash.
3-6: Ginting tries to deceive Lakshya with the flick serve who reads it early and hits a powerful cross-court smash.
1-5: Not enough height on the lift from Lakshya and Ginting hits a down on-the-line smash.
1-4: Immaculate net shot from Ginting to finish the rally.
1-2: Good judgement from Lakshya as Ginting’s lift lands just past the baseline.
0-1: The Indian tries to be a bit too cheeky with the net shot but ends up delaying it so much that it barely even makes it to the net.
SECOND GAME
21-17: Lakshya levels things up with an accurate cross-court smash.
20-17: Ginting saves another game point with a lovely drop shot near the net.
20-16: Short serve from Lakshya.
19-15: Blazing smash from Lakshya. He got into position so quickly.
18-15: Ginting’s wayward lift gifts Lakshya one more point.
17-15: Lakshya does well to retrieve Ginting’s cross court smash but the drift makes the shuttle land wide.
17-13: Ginting looking to finish things off quickly and committing mistakes. A reckless down-the-line smash lands wide.
16-13: Well, not for long. The very next point, he gets a favour from the net chord.
15-13: Lakshya’s backhand hits the net chord but does not get lucky like Ginting.
14-12: The lift from Lakshya is not high enough. Ginting leaps into the area and thrashes it into the court on Lakshya’s half.
14-11: Ginting sends a simple down-the-line smash wide.
13-11: Much needed point for Lakshya.
12-11: Make that one. Ginting reads it early and buries the cross-court smash.
12-10: Ginting reduces the deficit to two in next to no time.
11-7: Weak return from Ginting hits the net. This time, the Indian has a four-point lead at the halfway stage.
10-6: Lucky point for Ginting. He goes for the drive, the shuttle takes a deflection off the net chord and lands inside the Indian’s half who was at the back of the court.
9-5: Unbelievable defense from Lakshya. A forty-six shot rally that had Lakshya running all over the place but he does not relent and Ginting eventually lifts one wide.
7-4: Quick drive from Ginting draws the error from the Indian as he hits it into the net.
6-3: Straight as an arrow. Bang on the line. Brilliant down-the-line smash from Lakshya.
4-3: UNSUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE FROM LAKSHYA. The line judge correctly calls it out as Ginting let the drift carry the birdie into the side alleys.
4-2: Ginting misjudges. He returns one that was possibly sent wide from Lakshya and the result is another shot that hits the net.
3-2: Error at the net from Ginting.
1-1: Finally, a release shot for Lakshya. A terrific cross-court smash.
FIRST GAME
8-21: Ginting wins the opening game at the second time of asking. Blistering start for the Indonesian. Just 17 minutes!
7-19: Lovely cross court net shot from Ginting.
7-17: Ginting shows how its done. He first defends Lakshya’s cross court smash and then hits one back to which, the Indian has no answer.
7-16: Delightful drop from Ginting. Lakshya was too far back and slips in the effort to retrieve.
7-14: Ginting in full command. Draws Lakshya towards the net, gets the lift, goes back and smashes it past the Indian.
7-11: Short lift from Lakshya towards the end and Ginting pounces on it as the kill hits Lakshya. Four-point lead for the Indonesian at the mid-game interval.
7-10: Lakshya’s gentle lift from the net goes over the baseline courtesy of the drift. Tough conditions.
7-9: Ginting controls the rally before finishing it with a powerful jump smash down to Lakshya’s right.
6-8: Beautiful lift from Ginting. Totally deceives Lakshya as he lets it go only to see it land well inside the baseline.
6-6: Lakshya equalises as Ginting’s attempted net shot takes a deflection off the net chord and falls into the side alley.
4-5: Quick cross court smash from Ginting. Too much power in it and the Indian fails to send it over the net.
3-3: A couple of delightful drop shots from Ginting and Lakshya eventually fails to retrieve one.
3-2: Lakshya takes the lead. He set it up with a down-the-line smash, got the lift from Ginting and killed it at the net.
1-2: Lakshya open his account as Ginting errors at the net.
0-2: Kill from Ginting hits Lakshya bang in the face.
0-1: First point goes to the Indonesian as the drift carries Lakshya’s lift over the baseline.
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Warm-up is done. Game time!
11:37 AM: Lakshya Sen and Anthony Ginting have entered the Arena for the opening singles.
11:30 AM: It’s time.
11:25 AM: With five minutes to go for the opening singles between Lakshya Sen and Anthony Ginting, here’s a look at the match-up:
India has made it to the historic final in the Thomas Cup partly because of Lakshya Sen’s high ranking that has enabled the side to field Kidambi Srikanth and H. S. Prannoy as its second and third choice singles players. Lakshya Sen’s own form, though, hasn’t quite matched up.
He’s lost every match against a higher-ranked player (Chou Tien Chen, Lee Zii Jia and Viktor Axelsen), leaving India trailing on each occasion. He faces another higher-ranked player in Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ginting.
This is a stylistic matchup that might work in the Indian’s favour, though. The Indonesian loves fast exchanges and the last (and only) time the two played – just a couple of months ago at the German Open – he was badly frustrated by the Indian’s frenetic defence in a 21-7 21-9 loss.
However, while Ginting has also lost a couple of matches to Loh Kean Yew and Kunlavut Vitidsarn early in the tournament, he seems to have found some form, of late, picking up a crucial win over Kento Momota of Japan in the semifinal.
11:15 AM: Just 15 minutes to go for this blockbuster summit clash. Till the live action starts, here’s a glimpse of the winning moment from India’s semifinal victory over Denmark.
10:57 AM: In case you missed it, Korean women’s badminton team came from 1-2 down to upset 15-time champion China in the Uber Cup Final on Saturday. Here are the highlights of a thrilling summit clash:
10:45 AM: India has made one change to its lineup from semifinals. For the second doubles, M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila replace the lower-ranked duo of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.
10:35 AM: While BAI’s selection criteria allowed direct entry into the Thomas Cup squad only to players in the top 16 in singles, the governing body made an exception for World No. 23 H S Prannoy rewarding him for his good performances in recent tournaments. The decision has done wonders for the side as Prannoy won both the deciding third singles in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Prannoy after India’s quarterfinal win over Malaysia – “This is the one big event that I’ve dreamt of winning a medal in for the last decade. We tried our best in the past too but we could never ever come close. This is a huge moment for me. It’s not just a victory for me but for all the people who believed in me. This is probably one of the biggest days in my career. I don’t think I’ve been this happy in the last few years.” Read the full piece by Jonathan Selvaraj here:
HS Prannoy secures for India, a medal of his own
10:20 AM: “The Thomas Cup is the biggest tournament in team badminton. Making the finals means you stand eye to eye with the best nations in world badminton. The magnitude of an Indian team reaching the final is what I’d imagine the team that made the cricket World Cup finals back in 1983” – Pullela Gopichand. Read the entire piece by Jonathan Selvaraj here:
New generation scores Thomas Cup final date
10:10 AM: Here’s how the two sides have performed so far at this edition of the Thomas Cup:
| India | Indonesia | |
| Match 1 | Beat Germany 5-0 (Group C) | Beat Singapore 4-1 (Group A) |
| Match 2 | Beat Canada 5-0 (Group C) | Beat Thailand 4-1 (Group A) |
| Match 3 | Lost 2-3 to Chinese Taipei (Group C) | Beat Korea 3-2 (Group A) |
| Quarterfinal | Beat Malaysia 3-2 | Beat China 3-0 |
| Semifinal | Beat Denmark 3-2 | Beat Japan 3-2 |
MATCH PREVIEW
Indian men’s badminton team takes on 14-time champion Indonesia in its maiden Thomas Cup Final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday.
Having already bettered its best performance of reaching the semifinals in 1952, 1955 and 1979 editions, India will look to upset the mighty Indonesians to lift the trophy for the first time in the 73-year history of the tournament.
Thomas Cup final: India vs Indonesia – How the players match up
India reached the summit clash by beating 2016 champion Denmark 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal on Friday. H S Prannoy came from a game down to win the third and deciding singles against Rasmus Gemke after the two sides were tied 2-2 at the end of two singles and two doubles matches. The winning pattern was similar to India’s quarterfinal where it defeated five-time champion Malaysia 3-2 courtesy of Prannoy beating Leong Jun Hao in the final singles in straight games.
India was drawn to face Malaysia in the last eight fixture after it finished second in Group C where it beat both Germany and Canada 5-0 before suffering a 2-3 loss against the Chinese Taipei side.
Where to watch?
| The 2022 Thomas Cup final between India and Indonesia will be live telecast on Sports18 and live streamed on Voot Select and JioTV from 11:30 am IST onwards. |
