India’s Thomas Cup win is unexpected, but heart-warming

The male shuttlers, in contrast, have been much less heralded. That is, till Sunday, when they achieved the almost-unthinkable by winning the Thomas Cup – the World Cup of men’s team badminton. Not just any medal, but gold!

Beating badminton royalty Malaysia, Denmark and Indonesia in successive rounds cannot be termed a flash in the pan, but the result of years of hard work and planning, often away from the media spotlight. It could take the shuttle sport, especially the men’s side, to another level and raise the level of expectations for the current and future generation of players.

Names such as HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth have often been in the slipstream of the women stalwarts, even though the latter was once ranked No.1 in the world during a stellar 2017. The arrival of young gun Lakshya Sen — who reached the All England final and had a podium finish at the World Championship — and the doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have rounded the squad as there are no weak links.

But from where did this all-conquering combination emerge? A lot has been said and written about the proliferation of academies around the country once badminton became a fashionable sport. Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand’s academy in Hyderabad has been a conveyor belt of high-quality talent, despite the occasional noise about conflict of interest. Add to it, the establishment in Bengaluru with Prakash Padukone at the helm, and also Vimal Kumar, and one has several legends of the sport giving back in a tangible, and measurable, manner.

There have been several retired or semi-retired players across sports promising to scout and groom talent through their academies, but one is still waiting for their wards to make their first big splash.

As far as the current glory-winning group is concerned, Srikanth and Prannoy have been around long enough to experience the ups and downs of the circuit, suffering and recovering from their fair share of injuries. While the spotlight has been on Sindhu and Saina, they have grinded out results, occasionally dealing with early exits from tournaments.

When it came to prospects at big events, the men have often been an afterthought, at least in terms of star power. But coming into the Thomas Cup, the young and the old Indian male shuttlers were quietly confident about their chances. All the teams they faced in the latter stages of the tournament had players ranked higher than them, but that hardly fazed them.

In the final, names like Jonatan Christie (2018 Asian Games gold medallist) and Anthony Ginting were put to the sword, as was the acclaimed doubles combination of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. Indonesia have been perennial Thomas Cup champions, and take a lot of pride in being the numero uno country in the sport that arouses so much passion in the South-East Asian nation.

But, at least till the next edition, it will be a new country with the bragging rights in the men’s game. It is one of the most unexpected achievements, at least for those looking from the outside, but nonetheless one of the most heart-warming ones in Indian sport.