Lakshya’s retrieving, Srikanth’s silken strokes and Chirag-Satwik’s power play: The shots that defined India’s Thomas Cup matches

Thomas Cup Final: The clutch of points were all about finding the right nuanced placement and not bullying speed as such.

Indian men's badminton team poses with the trophy after winning the Thomas Cup, in Bangkok, Thailand. (PTI Photo)

At 22-21, Srikanth’s signature one-two

Out celebrating at dinner, Kidambi Srikanth was in no mood to reflect on the highpoint of the titanic battle of the Thomas Cup campaign. Asked his favourite shot, aside from the winning point that is, he picked the penultimate one – “because that brought me match point” – he would say, joining in the merriment with his teammates. But 22-21 in the second had indeed been the signature Srikanth Dubstep.

Inspirational @srikidambi was the hero for Team 🇮🇳 with plays like this 👇#TotalEnergiesBadminton #ThomasUberCups #Bangkok2022 pic.twitter.com/joC1TVXJeS

— BWF (@bwfmedia) May 15, 2022

In a sparse rally, Srikanth amped up the pace for a near-kill which would have sufficed on its own. But the likes of Jonatan Christie get under the smash invariably. It’s in the follow-up charge to the net that the opponent is far too spent to raise arms for yet another incoming bamboozler. It is Srikanth’s confidence shot, it’s regal in its execution, and stomping in its aftereffect. On the day, it brought Srikanth the match point after being 19-20 down and a decider looming. A third set is always fraught with energy reserves dipping and in a team event. Srikanth has never been a dawdler, and finishing in 2, asserting his class is his nature. Christie doesn’t get frazzled much. But the setup that fetched him the championship point left him deflated. A crosscourt smash that followed didn’t even need the driving-in of the knife. A poke drew blood, and India had a maiden Thomas Cup travelling on a flight back home.

At 14-13, smash that helps Lakshya nose ahead

The shuttle clipped the tape and fell on Anthony Ginting’s side to give Lakshya Sen a slight edge at 14-13 in the decider. Luck ought to favour the brave, goes the saying. Sen had earned his luck with relentless defense that prolonged rallies and punctured Ginting’s hopes in a way the defending champion wasn’t prepared for. Sen had done the hard work of defending from four corners, and for a player like Ginting, this cancelling of his attack with such bullheadedness was beginning to grate.

What a comeback by @lakshya_sen including this crazy point 👀 He takes 🇮🇳 to a 1️⃣-0️⃣ lead.

Follow LIVE: https://t.co/eLgY44YZE9 #ThomasUberCups #Bangkok2022 pic.twitter.com/XsCnanIxvh

— BWF (@bwfmedia) May 15, 2022

Sen started again the next point, maintaining a medium rhythm in his retrieves, before he let rip the kill against run of play. It was an accelerated down smash that hurried the pace mid-rally and gave him the 15-13 to nose ahead. The explosive attack on the back of a harp of a defense was too much for the speed at top gear Ginting.

Down four match points, Chirag-Satwik unleash power game

It was a black swan event – a moment in badminton time in history that was so unwarranted, so unexpected that it left a shadow or sadness on the Indonesian contingent that will not easily go away. Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, half of the legendary Minions, losing a Thomas Cup final rubber from 4 match points is unheard of. That the Indians Satwik Chirag chipped away at Indonesian confidence, at their self image even, at what is at the core of their strength, and superbly executed with the building of pressure by the Indians, was the turning point of the final which ended in a disbelieving 3-0 result. The clutch of points were all about finding the right nuanced placement and not bullying speed as such. At 17-18 Kevin Sanjaya had the most confident smash grazing the line pointing to accuracy and control. In the next few minutes, Indians incited anarchy. Satwik left shyness behind, and uncoiled his powergame.