Thomas Cup win bigger than 1983 World Cup for badminton: Gopichand

After the Indian men’s badminton team scripted history in Bangkok by winning the Thomas Cup, head coach Pullela Gopichand has described the achievement for the sport as “even bigger” than the country’s cricket World Cup triumph in 1983.

India blanked 14-time champion Indonesia 3-0 in the final on Sunday (May 15) to win the Thomas Cup for the first time. Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective singles matches while the doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy too triumphed.

Also read: Reactions to India’s Thomas Cup win

“I would say that in badminton terms this is even bigger (than the 1983 World Cup win). I think nobody would have imagined that we would win something as big as this,” former All England Open champion Gopichand told India Today TV.

When India defeated the mighty West Indies in the final at Lord’s, England, to lift the 1983 World Cup, it played a huge role in catapulting cricket to popularity in the country. Many were inspired to take up the sport after what the Kapil Dev-led side achieved.

Gopichand said he was happy not just for badminton but for the Indian sport in general. “I am really, really happy, not only for Indian badminton but for Indian sport. If you were to put cricket aside, I think no other sport in this country can talk about this kind of a team.”

On way to the final, India had defeated five-time winner Malaysia and Denmark in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. Gopichand said beating these two teams showed the character of the Indian side.

“I think it is huge for India to get to that stage. To beat Malaysia in the quarter-finals and then Denmark, I think that showed the character of the team. The first match today was very critical. I think once you start off well the momentum is with you and it makes that so much tougher for the opposition to come back.

“And that’s what happened. Satwik and Chirag piled up the pressure and just stayed on close enough and that was very important. And when it really mattered, I think we just played well. And it was amazing to see Srikanth. Each one of those matches was really close and we need this team to be able to pull this thing and I am happy that the entire team came together as a unit and played well,” he said.