On 15th May 2022, India scripted a historic win by lifting their maiden Thomas Cup. The Indian Badminton Team defeated 14-time champions Indonesia by 3-0 in Bangkok, Thailand.
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What is Thomas Cup and its history?
Thomas Cup is an international badminton competition. The 16 teams that compete for the prestigious title are representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The championship was started by a legendary badminton player of England Sir George Alan Thomas, who was inspired by Tennis's Davis Cup and Football's World Cup.
The first tournament was held from 1948–1949 and was conducted every three years till 1982. Since 1982, it is being conducted every two years. The three teams with the most titles in the championship are Indonesia, China, and Malaysia with 14, 10, and 5 titles, respectively.
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India's performance in Thomas Cup from 1952 to 2022:
Team India had participated in 1952 for the first time in this tournament and after a wait of 70 years, they have finally clinched the title. This is so far the best performance of India in the competition, the last time the country was closest to the title was in the year 1979 when they made it to the semi-finals.
Journey of India since 1952 is as follows -
1952: Final round inter-zone (Third position)
1955: Final round inter-zone (Third position)
1973: First round inter-zone (Fifth position)
1979: Semi-finals
1988: Group stage (Eighth position)
2000: Group stage (Seventh position)
2006: Quarter-finals
2010: Quarter-finals
2014: Group stage (11th position)
2016: Group stage (13th position)
2018: Group stage (10th position)
2020: Quarter-finals
2022: Winners
How did India win its maiden Thomas Cup?
India, at last, got its hand on the top prize in badminton, as registered a win against Indonesia with World Championships medallist Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and the world number 8 doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy producing memorable performances.
In the first men's singles game, Lakshya Sen beat Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16. In the first men's doubles game, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21, 23-21, 21-19. Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jonatan Christie 21-19, 23-21 in straight sets in the second men's singles match.
