HS Prannoy delivered a fearless exertion in the conclusive fifth match as the Indian men’s badminton team scripted history by reaching the final of the Thomas Cup Final out of the blue with a 3-2 win over Denmark.
The Indian team, which never went past the semi-finals after 1979, showed gigantic battling spirit as it came from a match down to outmaneuver the 2016 champs.
Yet again while big showdowns silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth and world number 8 doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept India in the chase, it was passed on to Prannoy to bring the team back on track when the tie was locked 2-2.
Facing world number 13 Rasmus Gemke, Prannoy experienced a lower leg injury after slipping on the front court while going for a return however the Indian went on after taking a medical break.
He thoroughly searched in torment and his on-court development likewise looked confined yet regardless of all chances, he created a hair-raising execution to come up bests 13-21 21-9 21-12 to scratch India’s name in the set of history books.
“Mentally, there were a lot of things going on in my head. After the slip, it was hurting more than usual and I was not able to lunge properly and I was thinking what to do,” Prannoy said after the tie.
“In my mind, it was always coming that I should not give up, just try and see how it goes. Was praying that the pain doesn’t get aggravated and it started to reduce towards the second game and by the third, I was feeling much better.”
India will take on 14-time champions Indonesia, the best team in the set of history. Indonesia bowed out Japan 3-2 in their elimination round.
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