Thomas Cup 2022: Indian men create history with a thrilling win over Malaysia.
The Indian men’s team registered their first-ever medal with a thrilling win over Malaysia in the third quarterfinals of the prestigious Thomas Cup 2022 played at Impact Court Arena 3 on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen gave a tough fight losing to Lee Zi Jia in two straight games. It was a good start by the Malaysian putting pressure on the Indian with smashes. The Indian showed great fight and spirit with brilliant shots to put Lee under pressure to level the scores at 10-10. At the mid-game interval, the Malaysian took a slender 11-10 lead. After the break, the Malaysian showed domination to put Sen under some pressure. Lakshya Sen maintained his skills to level the scores once more at 16-16. The match ebbed and flowed before Lee took the first game at 23-21.
The
second game was a one-sided affair as Lee put enough pressure on the Indian
with smashes and drop shots. At the mid-game interval, the Malaysian had an 11-5
lead. After the break, Lee kept the momentum and won the second game easily at 21-9
to give Malaysia a 1-0 lead.
Satwiksairaj
RankiReddy and Chirag Shetty maintained their domination over Goh Sze Fei and
Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia in two straight games. It was an aggressive start by
both teams as they earned alternate points before the Indian pair took an 11-9
lead at the interval. After the break, the Malaysian pair showed their character
to level the scores at 14-14. It was a very close affair by both pairs before
Satwik and Chirag won the first game by 21-19.
The
second game also began well for the Indian pair taking an early lead before the Malaysian pair leveled the score at 4-4. Chirag Shetty and RankiReddy looked
sharp putting enough pressure on the opposition. At the mid-game interval, the
Malaysian pair had a slender 11-10 lead. After the break, the match looked evens
steven at 14-14 before Satwik and Chirag played with aggression helping India
to take the second game at 21-15 to level the tie at 1-1.
Kidambi
Srikanth defeated Ng Tze Yong in straight games with a dominating performance.
It was a very close fought game initially before the Indian showed his
aggression not allowing Yong to play his natural style. At the mid-game
interval, Srikanth took an 11-6 lead. After the break, it was one-way traffic as
the Indian looked sharp winning the first game at 21-11.
The second game continued brilliantly for the Indian showing
his domination over his opponent and did not allow him to get a sniff. At the
mid-game interval, Srikanth led 11-5. After the break, Yong made a strong
comeback with some lovely shots to reduce the gap to 2 and then made it 14-14.
Srikanth showed his brilliance keeping the youngster guessing winning the second
game easily at 21-17 to give India a 2-1 lead.
Krishna
Prasad and Vishnuvardhan lost to the experienced pairing of Aaron Chia and Teo Ee
Yi in two straight games. The Indian committed a few unforced errors as the
Malaysian took advantage of it. At the mid-game interval, the Malaysian pair took an 11-6 lead. After the break, Krishna and Vishnuvardhan played some aggressive
badminton to level the score at 11-11. It was another close-fought affair leveling
at 19-19. Chia and Teo held their nerves to win the first game 21-19.
The
second game also began well for both pairs taking alternate points till 5-5. At
the mid-game interval, the Malaysian pair took a decent lead. After the break, Krishna
and Vishnuvardhan fought it out before Chia and Teo won the second game at 21-17
to level the tie at 2-2.
HS
Prannoy provided his experience as he defeated Leong Jun Hao in the third
singles. It was a decent start by the Malaysian player taking an early 4-1 lead
before Prannoy showed his aggression with brilliant smashes making life tough
for young Malaysian. From trailing, the Indian showed his class and leveled the
scores at 9-9. At the mid-game interval, Leong had a slender 11-10 lead. After
the break, Prannoy upped the ante putting enough pressure on the Malaysian, and
won the first game easily at 21-13.
The
second game saw the Indian put enough pressure on the Malaysian. It was a
dominating performance by Prannoy keeping the momentum going. At the mid-game
interval, the Indian led 11-4. After the break, it was one-way traffic as the
veteran hitting smashes and won 2nd game at 21-8 to win their first-ever medal at the Thomas Cup.
India beat Malaysia by 3-2 to win their first-ever medal at Thomas Cup 2022
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