Thomas Cup 2022: India, Indonesia clear opposition to meet in final
Reigning Thomas Cup champion Indonesia and south Asian powerhouse India meet in the final of the BWF Thomas Cup Finals 2022 after hurdling tough opponents on Friday the 13th.
Indonesia averts Japan comeback
Indonesia nearly squandered a 2-0 lead as Japan worked themselves back to force a winner-take-all match.
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting defeated fellow world top five player Momota Kento, 21-13, 14-21, 21-12, to put the southeast Asian badminton giant on the board. Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Mohammad Ahsan followed it up with another three-game win in the second doubles.
However, Japan did not fold that easily, taking the next two matches. It was then up to Shesar Hiren Rhustavito to carry the 14-time Thomas Cup champs to the promised land. He delivered by registering a 21-17, 21-11 scoreline in 44 minutes.
India reaches final for the first time
The country where the sport was invented finally gets to play for a team championship. To do so, India had to outlast this edition’s ironman team in Denmark, 3-2.
The first doubles of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and the second singles of Srikanth Kidambi erected a 2-1 advantage after Lakshya Sen succumbed to Viktor Axelsen. Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Frederik Søgaard then forced a deciding match by beating Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala, 21-14, 21-13.
In the last match, team anchor HS Prannoy made sure that Rasmus Gemke would no longer add BWF Thomas Cup Finals 2020 moments and highlights, upending the Dane in an hour and 13 minutes, 13-21, 21-9, 21-12.
The closest India got to winning a major tournament was a gold in women’s singles at the 2019 BWF World Championships and a silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics, all courtesy of PV Sindhu.
Author Details
JP is an all-around sportswriter who covered the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Gold Grand Prix 2009. Aside from BWF badminton he follows football, basketball, and pro wrestling.
