Thomas Cup 2022: India's historic winning moment en route to maiden final; Watch video

The Indian Men's Badminton Team created history by reaching the final of the Thomas Cup, courtesy of a 3-2 victory over Denmark in Thailand on Friday. HS Prannoy won the pivotal fifth set against World No. 13 Rasmus Gemke to break the 2-2 tie and assist India in reaching their maiden final in the competition's history. Prannoy led India to the final, where they will face 14-time champions Indonesia, after beating Gemke 13-21 21-9 21-12.

The Indian contingent swarmed the court to celebrate Prannoy's historic victory over Gemke as soon as he secured the winning points. Members of the Indian squad were seen running onto the court to hug Prannoy after he defeated Gemke in the final set, as shown in a video uploaded by the Sports Authority of India's official Twitter handle. One of the Indian players was also seen holding the tricolour to commemorate the victory.

"Achievement Unlocked for India at #ThomasCup2022. And the REACTION is priceless," the Sports Authority of India (SAI) wrote on Twitter, where it also shared the video of Indian players celebrating the historic win. 

Netizens are showering praise on the Indian men's badminton team for achieving the historic milestone as India had never played in the final of the Thomas Cup before. Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and RCB's wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik are amongst those who have reacted to India's win on social media. Here are a few reactions to India's victory in the Thomas Cup semi-final.

Thomas Cup semi-final

The match started with a clash between world championship bronze medallist Lakshya Sen and Viktor Axelsen. The latter defeated Sen 21-13 21-13 to provide Denmark with an early lead of 1-0. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then came out on top and beat the Danish pair of Astrup and Christiansen 21-18 21-23 22-20 to help India tie the contest 1-1. Kidambi Srikanth then defeated Andres Antonsen to hand India a 2-1 lead. 

Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala, however, lost their doubles match against Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard to allow Denmark to make a comeback. It was then left to the experienced Prannoy to secure a win for India. Prannoy beat Gemke despite suffering an injury on his right ankle early on in the match. Prannoy lost his opening game but bounced back stronger to win the next two sets. 

Image: SAI_Media/Twitter