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Over the years, India have struggled to make their mark in the Thomas Cup. One of the main reasons for India’s poor performance in the 73-year long tournament was the lack of top quality men’s doubles players in their squad.
However, this time around, the presence of one top-10 men’s doubles pair in the form of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made all the difference. In addition to world No. 8 Satwiksairaj and Chirag, the other two pairs in the side were also very good and capable of upsetting their higher-ranked opponents.
MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila are ranked 39 in the world and did reasonably well in the just-concluded Thomas Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. They were scheduled to play the second doubles of the final against Indonesia but were not needed as India sealed a 3-0 victory on Sunday.
Back-up pair Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala have emerged as fine prospects for the future with their skills and temperament.
India wins 7 doubles matches out of 11 in the 2022 Thomas Cup
Out of a total of 11 doubles matches in the 2022 Thomas Cup, India won 7 matches which clearly suggests a much better performance by the Indian men’s doubles pairs.
India stunned 14-time champions Indonesia to become only the sixth country to win the Thomas Cup.
Indian doubles coach Arun Vishnu acknowledged the vital contribution of the men’s doubles players as India created history with their maiden Thomas Cup triumph.
“Success in the Thomas Cup depends on the support of the men’s doubles players. India have always had quality singles players in the past but lacked that much-needed depth in the doubles department. Satwik and Chirag made a huge difference in the ultimate outcome of the tournament. They have won those crucial matches which tilted the results in our favour,” Arun Vishnu told Sportskeeda.
Out of a total of six ties in the competition, India only had one bad game against Chinese Taipei. India lost both their doubles matches against Chinese Taipei in the third and final league outing of Group C.
Arjun and Kapila lost by a wafer thin margin against Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei, 17-21, 21-19, 19-21 in a marathon 77-minute encounter.
In the first doubles, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei downed Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 21-11, 21-19 in 40 minutes. It was the only defeat for the Satwik-Chirag pair in the entire tournament.
Satwik and Chirag provided vital support to singles players: Arun Vishnu
Arun Vishnu gave full marks to Satwik and Chirag for their sensational wins in the semis and finals. The ace Indian pair saved four match points against Indonesia to pull off a spectacular come-from-behind win.
“Overall it was a commendable performance by the doubles players. Thomas Cup glory was a complete team effort with our men’s singles players leading from the front. The support provided by Satwik and Chirag was incredible. Both singles and doubles players complimented each other perfectly to bring the cup home. The success of Satwik-Chirag has also boosted the confidence of the other two doubles pairs in the squad,” said Arun Vishnu, who has also represented India in the Thomas Cup.
Former Indian doubles specialist Arun praised Arjun and Kapila. The 33-year-old player-turned-coach, who is a coach in the national camp at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, also hailed the efforts of Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan Goud.
Arjun and Kapila registered a straight-games win against Germany in their first league encounter. India’s third doubles pair of Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan Goud started off well by dismissing Canadian pair Dong Adam and Nyl Yakura 21-15, 21-11 in their second league outing.
Krishna and Vishnuvardhan looked impressive in their win and were preferred by the team management over Arjun and Kapila for the quarters and semis. However, they lost both their doubles matches against Malaysia and Denmark in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
“India is certainly making rapid strides as far as doubles is concerned. The Badminton Association of India has been making a lot of efforts to bring our doubles standard to par with singles. From now onwards, we will definitely have more quality doubles players coming up which will bolster our chances in team events like Thomas and Uber Cup,” said Arun Vishnu.
BAI recently appointed legendary men’s doubles player Mathias Boe of Denmark as the specialist national doubles coach. He traveled with the team for the Thomas Cup and experts believe Boe's presence has made a huge impact on India’s fortunes.
