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Down but not out
The badminton world has for too long fallen under the domination of a few.
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India's Kidambi Srikanth hits a return against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie during the men's finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton tournament in Bangkok on May 15. (AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)
T
here should be no excuse for Indonesia’s defeat in the Thomas Cup final in Bangkok on Sunday, which handed India its first-ever trophy since the inception of the badminton men’s team competition 73 years ago. Entering the tournament as an underdog, India shocked title holder Indonesia 3-0.
The victory was by no means a fluke for the Indians, as they had seen off former champions Malaysia and Denmark en route to the final encounter against star-studded Indonesia.
India’s memorable win over Indonesia to some extent reminded the two nations of the epic All-England men’s singles final in 1980 between defending champion and top-seeded Lim Swie King of Indonesia and Prakash Padukone. At that time Padukone defied the odds (he had lost to King in the previous five encounters) to become the first Indian to win at All-England.
India now joins the club of only six countries that have won the Thomas Cup. Indonesia, despite the loss on Sunday, remains the most successful team with 14 victories.
Falling on the last hurdle is indeed an upset for Indonesia, but in one way or another it has learned a lot from India, a team that turned up for the biennial tournament without official sponsorship. The Indian players capitalized on their fighting spirit and their non-seeded status that surely had put high pressure on all their rivals mentally.
The Indian team was simply hungry for glory to prove their doubters, both at home and overseas, wrong. They had shown determination even before the tournament began as evident in their choice of the title for their internal WhatsApp group: “We'll Bring It Home”.
Solidarity is another recipe for success as India has proven. The whole team, both Thomas Cup and Uber Cup squads, supported each other inside and outside the court. The Indian Uber Cup team, already exited from the tournament, delayed their flight back home only to cheer on their male teammates who fought to realize their dream.
As the old adage goes, let the best win. India’s crowning as the Thomas Cup champion speaks volumes of hard work and better preparation, albeit with a little bit of luck. Indonesia was unfortunate as the team was without one of the “Minions”, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, who is taking a few months’ break following a surgery in March.
For sure India’s Thomas Cup triumphant run will be an inspiration for other countries. The badminton world has for too long fallen under the domination of a few. Indonesia, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Denmark are the same old faces that have won almost all laurels among them.
Indonesia in particular is blessed with so many talents and entrepreneurs who are committed to developing the sport. In fact, badminton is everybody’s sport in the country. Both in urban and rural areas, the badminton court is a common public facility.
The sport is also a unifying factor that oftentimes offered this nation a solace in times of crisis, as happened 24 years ago. While Jakarta was in inferno amid a regime change in May 1998, Indonesian Thomas Cup and Uber Cup teams brought home the coveted trophies.
The failure at Thomas Cup and Uber Cup is not the end of the world, but a reminder that we have to step up the game.
