Thomas Cup 2024: Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag and Co tick small boxes before big tests as champions India qualify for quarterfinals; Indonesia next

India’s incredible Thomas Cup triumph in Bangkok in 2022 required a leap of faith. Never before were India seen as potential World Champions in a badminton team event, so to manifest that into reality, they had to will themselves into believing it. But now that they know it could be done, the objective in Chengdu at the start of their title defence was about ticking small boxes before gearing up for tougher challenges.

It was all the more important because the first match against Thailand was a banana skin. “One match here or there, it could have gone bad for us,” is how HS Prannoy put it. Indeed, the 4-1 scoreline didn’t quite reflect how tricky that match was for India. Even on Monday, Indonesia had some hairy moments against a young Thai side. But the 2022 finalists have come through as expected, with India blanking England, while Indonesia edged past Thailand, to qualify for the quarterfinals. On Wednesday the much-awaited clash between India and Indonesia will decide who tops Group C.

Against England, HS Prannoy got a confidence-boosting win under his belt. It’s been a tough year for the India No 1, battling health issues that have seen him lose 4-4.5kgs in the last couple of months. “I was on a liquid diet before the morning sessions because whatever I was eating was coming up,” he told BWF. “I couldn’t eat much because I was afraid it would affect the playing schedule. I was ok to not eat and play; the nausea was even worse than not having anything in the stomach.”

But having figured out what the issue was, and on the mend, Prannoy has looked better in his April outings. Even in the defeat against Kunlavut Vitidsarn, there were signs of his movement getting back to a good level. He said he felt much better against England as he defeated a spirited Harry Huang 21-15, 21-15 to give India the lead.

The trickiest match of the tie was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s clash against Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, the English duo having tasted success in the past against the Indians (3-2 in Head-to-Head). For the second day running, the world No 3 didn’t have things go completely their way but had to dig in to win 21-17, 19-21, 21-15. Like in their match against Thai teenagers, the left-right combination on the other side of the net caused problems for SatChi. But with Satwik recovering from a recent injury, it was important for them to just get over the line in these two matches to warm themselves up.

The trickiest match of the tie was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s clash against Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, the English duo having tasted success in the past against the Indians (3-2 in Head-to-Head). (Photo: BAI)

“It wasn’t pretty pleasant, it was not a smooth match,” Satwik told BWF. “We still hung in there. It’s always tough to play left-right, in India we have a lot of right-right pairs, so we are never used to it. The same thing happened against Thailand. We have to find the gaps. The conditions here have been fast, in slower conditions we could have opened up a bit more. But in the third game, we played all out.”

‘Childhood hero’

With Lakshya Sen rested, Srikanth Kidambi stepped onto the court for the second singles tie against Nadeem Dalvi, who later revealed it was a pleasure to play the Indian veteran who was his childhood hero. The Englishman put up a good fight too while Srikanth too struggled at times to control the shuttle, but the former world No 1 comfortably prevailed 21-16, 21-11 in 31 minutes.

“Happy with the way both the matches have gone for me. In team events, there is a lot of pressure. Comparatively, I feel I have played few easier opponents so far. But from now we will face better opponents and I have to be my best,” Srikanth said, adding that it helps to get used to conditions early on.

On his recent form, Srikanth felt he has been playing well but hasn’t been able to pull off the wins. “Obviously people will compare to how I was playing from 2013 to 2022. But I was in my 20s then,” he said with a chuckle. But playing with a bit more freedom and joy in a team environment, India will hope Srikanth can provide finishing touches going forward.

For MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, the last year has been difficult, mostly due to the persistent injury troubles of the former. On paper, MD2 is a weakness opponents will look to exploit. But Arjun and Dhruv have hit some form recently, and pulled off back-to-back straight-game wins, another box that India can tick. Kiran George might not get another game in Chengdu, but he did his job with a win that clinched the match 5-0.

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“The first goal was to qualify for knockouts, that’s what we were thinking about coming in to the tournament,” Srikanth said. “When we play Indonesia, it will be about giving our best to top the group.” India didn’t top the group in Bangkok but managed alright. But it can’t be denied that finishing first in the group is an advantage in the quarterfinals.

It has set up the India-Indonesia rematch perfectly, a match that will provide the first real indication of how far the defending champions can go. Two small steps done, now time for giant leaps.

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