Underdogs to Winning Thomas Cup – How Indian Men's Badminton Team Made History

It was a historic Sunday for Indian sports as the Indian men's Badminton team defeated 14-time winners – Indonesia, to clinch their first ever Thomas Cup title in Bangkok.

(Photo: The Quint)

15th May was not just any Sunday, it was a historic Sunday for Indian sports as the Indian men's Badminton team defeated 14-time winners – Indonesia, to clinch their first ever Thomas Cup title in Bangkok.

Praise is still pouring in for the players who together helped India win the prestigious tournament for the first time in it’s 73 year history.

Senior stalwarts Kidami Srikanth and HS Prannoy remained unbeaten in the tournament, despite playing higher ranked opponents at times.

20-year-old Lakshya Sen fought off a bout of food poisoning earlier in the week, to win the first match in Sunday’s final against 14-time winners Indonesia.

Chirag and Satwik – the magical doubles pair brought out their best at crunch situations and defeated an Indonesian team comprising only player from the world number one doubles team, and the second from the number two placed team.

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra to top cricketers like Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman – this win drew ecstatic reactions from everybody.

But how did this team achieve this dream against several odds? Our guest in today's episode is sports journalist Abhijeet Kulkarni. We'll also hear from some of the poster boys about what they have to say about their big victory. Tune in!