India ended the 70-year-old wait and won the title of the prestigious Thomas Cup in the year 2022. This was followed by unprecedented success at the Commonwealth Games as India took giant steps towards becoming a badminton powerhouse.
In a year of breathless action, PV Sindhu's grit, Lakshya Sen's exuberance, and the dogged determination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also resulted in six individual titles on the BWF Tour.
In the Thomas Cup tournament, Team India thrashed 14-time champions Indonesia and won by 3-0. 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.
Double Olympic medallist Sindhu won three titles - Syed Modi International, Swiss Open Super 350, and Singapore Open Super 500 and capped the year with an elusive gold in Birmingham CWG before spending the rest of the season nursing an ankle injury.
If Sen secured his maiden Super 500 title and also bagged the CWG gold besides two final finishes, Satwik and Chirag made it their most successful year ever with two World Tour titles, CWG gold, and a first-ever world championship bronze.
Satwik-Chirag continued to soar higher in the second half as they achieved another milestone, becoming the first Indian men's pair to win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Tokyo.
The duo scripted another creditable show in Paris when they secured their maiden super 750 titles at French Open, again the first Indian pair to do so.
The year was also a successful one for Prannoy, who emerged as the most consistent Indian player in the circuit with seven quarterfinals, two semifinals, and a runner-up finish at the Swiss Open.
Even though a title eluded him, Prannoy's consistent run saw him qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals and also earn him a nomination for the BWF Player of the year award.
The 30-year-old from Kerala finished in the group stage in Bangkok but not before stunning world number one and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in his last match.
The junior Indian players also hogged the limelight with Sankar Muthuswamy securing a silver medal at the World Junior Championships and also becoming the world number one in the boys' singles.
Tasnim Mir also achieved the numero uno status in BWF girls' singles rankings during the year.
Unnati Hooda also showed early signs of her prowess with a BWF title at the age of 14 when she claimed the Odisha Open in January.
The para shuttlers were also not far behind as reigning Paralympic gold medallist Pramod Bhagat secured his fourth gold in singles at the World Championships, which also saw the emergence of Manisha Ramadass as she claimed the top prize in women's singles.
With the Olympic qualification race beginning, 2023 is likely to see more fireworks from the Indian stars as they fight to make the cut for the Paris Games.
