"The first goal was to qualify, and then when we play against Indonesia, it is about giving our best" - Kidambi Srikanth on India's win at Thomas Cup

The Thomas Cup 2024, one of badminton's most prestigious tournaments, witnessed defending champion India display sheer dominance in their second group stage tie against England and clinch a resounding 5-0 victory.

Reflecting on their triumph in a post-match media interaction, Kidambi Srikanth expressed satisfaction with his performance against England's Nadeem Dalvi, where he secured a 21-16, 21-11 win.

"Yeah, I am happy with the way both the matches have gone for me,” Srikanth said.

Srikanth also acknowledged the pressure but said that the big matches provide a lot of confidence to players.

“You know, the team events put a lot of pressure on players. So obviously, it was a bit difficult to win every game; the big match gives a lot of confidence, so you don't really take too much pressure," the former World No. 1 added.

Talking a little more about his matches, Srikanth said:

"But again, I think comparatively, I feel I've played a little easier opponents in both the matches. Prannoy played a better player, I feel, in the first match against Thailand. But I think from now, we will face better opponents, and it's really important to be at my best from now."

When asked whether he prefers facing easier opponents in the initial stages of a tournament or a tougher set, Kidambi Srikanth said:

"No, I feel it's better to play easier opponents in the beginning, because the conditions are always tough in the beginning, and once you get used to it, then it gets better."

With their place secured for the quarterfinals, India's focus now shifts to their final group-stage encounter against Indonesia. The 31-year-old shuttler asserted their initial goal was to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“You know, coming in, we were thinking about making sure we qualify first because we obviously know that we played Indonesia in the third match. So, the first goal was to qualify, and then when we play against Indonesia, it is about giving our best,” Srikanth said.

“And then, if we can top the group, maybe we might play a better opponent because we'll be playing second (the team that qualifies second) from any group. So, it's better to play second than the first from any group, so we obviously will try to win the next round.” he added.

Srikanth concluded by saying:

"Yeah, I feel I'm still playing well. It's just that I'm not able to pull out those matches, but otherwise I feel I'm still playing okay, and obviously people will compare, you know, to how I was playing, say from 2013, maybe, till 2021, 2022. So, you know, I was in my twenties then, and people obviously tend to compare."

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India's women's team also qualifies for the knockout stages of the Uber Cup

India’s women’s team has also qualified for the knockout stages of the Uber Cup. Unlike India’s Thomas Cup contingent, the women’s team has a rather young and inexperienced squad, with the notable absence of two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and the doubles pairs of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto and Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly.

Despite missing key players, the team has shown remarkable strength and put up a dominant performance, winning their group-stage matches against Canada and Singapore with a convincing 4-1 scoreline.

A standout performance was seen in the form of Ashmita Chaliha, who caused an upset by beating the World No. 25 from Canada, Michelle Li, in straight games.

India will now take on China in their final group-stage match on April 30t. The match will also decide which team tops the group.