Thomas Cup semi-final, India vs Denmark: India men’s badminton team makes history, reaches Thomas Cup final

HS Prannoy produced a lion-like effort in the decisive Thursday match as the Indian men’s badminton team made history by reaching the Thomas Cup final for the first time with a 3-2 victory over Denmark in the achievement- semi-final seats in Thailand. The Indian team, which had never made it to the semi-finals after 1979, showed great fighting spirit as they overcame the 2016 champions, while the world championship silver medalist Kidambi Srikanth and the world No. 8 pair Satwiksairaj Rankedlydy and Chirag Shetty kept India on the hunt, then Prannoy once again had to send the team home with a 2-2 draw. Against world number 13 Rasmus Gemke, Prannoy injured his ankle after slipping on the front court in his return match but the Indian player continued after convalescence. He looked painful and his movement on the field was also limited but despite all the difficulties he produced a sensational performance to take the lead 13-21 21-9 21-12 to India’s name in history books.

“Mentally, there was a lot going on in my head. After the slip, it hurt more than usual and I couldn’t get down properly and I was thinking what to do,” Prannoy said after the game.

“In my mind, it always happens that I shouldn’t give up, just try and see how it goes. I prayed that the pain didn’t get worse and it started to subside in the game. the second and by the third, I was feeling better.” “The strategy we used in the second and third games was very important. That strategy was to keep the pressure and I knew if I went into the second half with the lead, there would be a big chance to win the game. And I just told myself to push these 11 points maybe and the strategy worked,” he added.

Now, India will take on Indonesia, the most successful team in history. Indonesia overcame Japan 3-2 in their semi-final.

It was a believable performance by the Indian team, who on Thursday overcame a 43-year wait by reaching the semi-finals with a 3-2 victory over five-time champions Malaysia, the last time. achieved in 1979.

It will always be a difficult task for India to subdue formidable Denmark, which became the first European nation in history to win the title in 2016.

Lots of people have won bronze at world champion Lakshya Sen, with a recent win over Viktor Axelsen at the German Open Super 300 but he couldn’t repeat his performance as the world number one won. 21-13 21-13 comfortably against Denmark. 1-0 lead.

Denmark decided to split their world No 9s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen into two halves with Astrup joining Mathias Christiansen in the first doubles.

However, Rankedlydy and Shetty put on a fearless display, keeping their nerve in the final stages to beat Astrup and Christiansen 21-18 21-23 22-20 to bring India back into the competition. .

The Indian pair faced five head-to-head points – two in the second game and three in the third – before switching one point to bring joy to the Indian camp.

With a 1-1 draw, world number 11 Srikanth and world number three Anders Antonsen engaged in a battle for supremacy in the second singles match with the former topping with a final result. cruel result 21-18 12-21 21-15. India leads 2-1.

However, India’s second doubles match between Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala could not match Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard, they lost 14-21 13-21 when the expected draw was 2-2 after the fourth round.

The experienced Prannoy then lost the opening match but, rather unbelievable, he led 11-1 in the second game, despite the injury. He relies more on his attack to collect points even if Gemke fails to put pressure on the Indians.

Prannoy dominated the front court and quickly returned to contention with Gemke committing too many fouls.

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Prannoy, ranked 23rd, stamped his authority with his trademark smashes as Gemke’s defense lay in tatters. The Indian took an 11-4 lead in the interval and continued to dominate the competition.

With the Impact Arena resounding with chants of “HSP,” Prannoy took nine match points with a slam dunk down the street and made his mark at a second chance as his teammates gathered together. to celebrate.