New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to the Indian men's badminton team after their historic 3-0 win over 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final in Thailand's Bangkok. India, competing in their first-ever Thomas Cup final, secured their maiden gold medal today in the prestigious competition's 73-year-old history.
After team India scripted history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the players and motivated them by speaking with them personally over a phone call. The video of PM's heartfelt interaction with the winning Indian team went viral on social media.
Earlier, PM Modi had praised the Indian badminton team on Twitter for their incredible achievement.
"The Indian badminton team has scripted history! The entire nation is elated by India winning the Thomas Cup! Congratulations to our accomplished team and best wishes to them for their future endeavours. This win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersons," wrote Modi on the micro-blogging site.
Struggling to find momentum in the knockout stage, Lakshya performed as expected in the most crucial bout as he bounced back from a loss in the first singles match to beat world number five Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 8-21 21-17 21- 16 to give India a 1-0 lead.
India's top men's doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag then came back from a loss in the opening game to save four match points in the second game to beat the pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjay Sukamuljo 18-21 23-21 21-19 and made India's lead 2-0 over Indonesia.
In the third and final match, Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jonathan Christie to make India winners of the Thomas Cup for the first time.