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Ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy bagged a hard-fought 13-21, 21-12, 21-12 win over Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka to give India a 1-0 lead in the ongoing Thomas Cup 2024 encounter.
In the third game of the match, just when Prannoy was being dominated by his opponent at 8-4, the side umpire pointed out a double hit fault by Anthony and helped the Indian shuttler regain the momentum and eventually secure a win in the encounter.
Speaking about the call by the side umpire, HS Prannoy deemed himself pretty lucky to win the match. Furthermore, he requested to have reviews on double hit faults to help the players have their point of view in the game.
“It was a very crucial call, thanks to the side umpire who gave in the right decision. Sometimes, it's sad that one decision like that can change the entire momentum of the game and the entire tie as well,” HS Prannoy said in the post-match interview.
“Hopefully, we can have challenges for those decisions as well. I think it would be fair from players point of view as well to see what exactly happened. I am sure Badminton is a very fast game to miss out on such decision. I was very lucky today,” Prannoy added.
“The entire focus was on the second game” - HS Prannoy
Furthermore, HS Prannoy stated that the entire focus of the tie was on the second game after losing the initial game. The Indian shuttler sounded confident of his strategy for the third game after staying patient in order to level the match.
“I think the entire focus was on the second game, because I always have an edge in the third game because of my strategy I keep trusting on. It’s always tough to play the second game when you lose the first. Today, I was really patient enough to do well in the second game,” Prannoy went on to add.
Team India are currently in the second position in the ongoing Thomas Cup 2024 with two consecutive wins, bagging two points.
On April 27, India secured a win over Thailand by 4-1 to gain the momentum. Later, they secured a dominating 5-0 win over England to consolidate their second spot in the tally. Notably, India are the defending champions after defeating Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final.
