The Indian badminton team created history on Friday in Bangkok by defeating Denmark in the Thomas Cup 2022 semifinals to book their maiden summit clash spot. On Sunday, the young Indian team seeks to rewrite history when they run into 14-time champions Indonesia for the gold medal. (More Badminton News)
The India vs Indonesia summit clash at Thomas Cup 2022 will start at 11:30 AM IST/1 PM local. Catch LIVE HERE.
After the PV Sindhu-led Indian women were ousted in the Uber Cup 2022 quarterfinals, it was up to their male clounterparts to leave a mark. The young Indian team didn’t disappoint and proved their mettle by upsetting mighty Malaysia and Denmark en route to at least assure themselves silver medals.
Given their proven record in the history of the tournament, Indonesian men are the team to beat, but it would be fairly silly to underestimate an Indian side that believed in themselves in all the tough situations and displayed tremendous mental strength to upstage their opponents.
Placed in Group A alongside South Korea, Thailand and Singapore; Indonesia entered the knockouts with an all-win record. For India, their only loss came against Chinese Taipei in Group C.
With a day to recover, India will hope HS Prannoy gets fit in time after he suffered an injury scare against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the semiifinals on Friday. Prannoy unexpectedly fell and twisted his right ankle but it was he who took India to the final.
“I wasn’t able to lunge. There were a lot of things going on in my head. After the slip, it was hurting a bit more than usual and I was wondering what to do, I thought I’d try to manage. More than physical, it was a mental game. I just couldn’t afford to lose the focus,” Prannoy said after the game.
“I was thinking a lot on the court, but I have done a lot of mental training over the last six months, and all of that worked today. I was extremely focussed, and this is what I’ve been working for, to be in the zone,” he added.
Along with Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth too has shouldered the responsibilities of the Indian team at a time when Lakshya Sen – the country’s best-ranked shuttler, played well but in patches. Not to forget, the men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankiredd, who have put their hands up whenever the chips were down.
The young combination of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala have proved to be a weak link but they gave a good account of themselves during their losses against Malaysia and Denmark.
The Indian think-tank is likely to bring back MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila as the second doubles pair for the final. The duo has played two matches in the round-robin phase with one win and one loss. On the other hand, Indonesia possess some of the world’s best shuttlers in their ranks.
They have three players of the world top two pairs – Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan – in this competition. Indonesia also have world no.7 combination of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto and it will be an uphill task for India to take the doubles matches.
Among the singles stars, Indonesia boast of world No. 5 and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Anthony Ginting. They also have world no.8, Jonatan Christie, in their squad.
India At Thomas Cup
India assured themselves a medal at the Thomas Cup in their 13th attempt. Before this ongoing edition, India’s best performance at this tournament came in 1979 in Indonesia when they made the semifinals. Led by legendary Prakash Padukone and featuring Syed Modi, Uday Pawar, Suman Mishra and Partho Ganguly, India lost to Denmark 2-7 in the last four stage.
India vs Indonesia Head-To-Head
India and Indonesia have met seven times before with the latter winning on all the occasions. India first met Indonesia back in 2010 and their latest defeat came in the Badminton Asia Team Championships earlier this year. It will be India’s maiden win over Indonesia on Sunday if they are able to do so.
Where To Watch India vs Indonesia Summit Clash At Thomas Cup 2022?
The India vs Indonesia Thomas Cup 2022 final will be played at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. In India, Sports18 TV will live telecast the India vs Indonesia summit clash from 11:30 AM IST/1 PM local. Live streaming of India vs Indonesia Thomas Cup 2022 final will be available on Voot platform.
