Thomas Cup: This is definitely my biggest win, says Kidambi Srikanth

Hyderabad: Being the senior-most player in the team comes with responsibilities of motivating the youngsters and leading from the front. However, Kidambi Srikanth, the vital cog in India’s maiden victory in Thomas Cup, said that the team was already pumped up ahead of the title clash.

Speaking after India’s Thomas Cup triumph, Srikanth said that the victory was his biggest in his career. “Individual events are different from team events. We hardly get to play team events. The Thomas and Uber Cup is the biggest event and winning it is very special. It takes a while to sink in. At the moment, I would rate it as one of my biggest wins for sure,” he said.

He also said that the victory is a result of team effort. “It is not any individual’s win, everyone did really well when it really mattered. I would definitely say it is a team win. When you win in these tournaments, the win is for the country. After we won, people say India won the Thomas Cup, not individuals. That itself is a special feeling. I don’t think everyone will have that privilege to experience what we are experiencing now.”

When asked what he spoke to younger players in the squad ahead of the final, he said, “I know I played more number of tournaments than anyone in the team. But I didn’t really have to give long speeches and motivate them. I was just letting them know that they were doing good and they need to play well in one hour they get to play everyday and the result would follow. I am happy that all the youngsters stepped up and played well. I need not motivate them. They were very pumped up. We came here thinking that we would do whatever it takes to win this cup.”

Meanwhile, HS Prannoy, who was drafted into the team as third singles player, said they made conscious efforts to talk and motivate each other. He also said he was grateful to be part of this winning team. “I always wanted to be part of the Thomas Cup. I would have regretted not selected. I am grateful for selecting me.”

Indian team manager and coach Vimal Kumar hoped that the Thomas Cup victory would spur Indian badminton like the 1983 World Cup victory did for cricket.“We had great performances in individual category like Prakash Padukone, Gopichand winning All England, PV Sindhu winning Olympic medal and Saina (Nehwal) becoming World No.1. But we never had that achievement in team events. I would say this is the biggest result in Indian badminton,” he said.

He further added that the emergence of doubles players was key to their success. “In the past, we always depended on singles players to do well. But the emergence of doubles players as match winners helped the results. Chirag and Satwik have been fantastic and they delivered when it mattered the most,”he revealed.

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