Loss To Chinese Taipei Was Turning Point: Thomas Cup Hero HS Prannoy To NDTV

In an exclusive chat with NDTV, HS Prannoy revealed how the loss to Chinese Taipei in the group stages was the turning point for the team at the Thomas Cup.

The Indian men's badminton team made history last week, winning its first-ever Thomas crown. India beat 14-time champions and holders Indonesia in the final to win a maiden gold medal at the tournament. It was the first time that India had even reached the final at Thomas Cup, but showed nerves of steel throughout in the final. On Sunday, NDTV caught up with one of the heroes of India's historic triumph -- HS Prannoy. The star shuttler revealed that the team's loss to Chinese Taipei in their final group match was the turning point as it provided them the spark to go all the way.

"I think Chinese Taipei was the turning point. If we had won against Chinese Taipei then probably we would not have won the Thomas Cup. We needed that realisation in between the tournament and that gave a huge spark to the entire team. They knew exactly what went wrong and we didn't want that to happen in the next three matches. And that was the turning point," Prannoy told NDTV.

Up against Chinese Taipei in the final Group C match, the Indian men's team fought hard with HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila all losing their respective matches. Only Kidambi Srikanth could claim a victory over his opponent.

Following that loss to Chinese Taipei, India didn't look back. They breezed past Thailand 3-0 to set up a quarterfinal clash against Malaysia.

Against Malaysia, India were locked in a fierce battle with the scores tied at 2-2 after four matches. It all came down to Prannoy's match against Leong Jun Hao. The Indian, however, didn't disappoint as he registered a 21-13, 21-8 win to assure India a medal by reaching the semis.