Prannoy wins decisive match against Denmark to steer India to historic Thomas Cup final

Indian team, which never went past the semifinals after 1979, showed tremendous fighting spirit as it came from a match down to outwit 2016 champions Denmark.

H.S. Prannoy produced a lion-hearted effort in the decisive fifth match as the Indian men's badminton team scripted history by reaching the title clash of the Thomas Cup Final for the first time ever with a 3-2 victory in an edge-of-the-seat semifinal, here.

Indian team, which never went past the semifinals after 1979, showed tremendous fighting spirit as it came from a match down to outwit 2016 champions Denmark.

While world championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth and world number 8 doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept India in the hunt, it was once again left to HS Prannoy to take the team home when the tie was locked 2-2. Up against world number 13 Rasmus Gemke, Prannoy suffered an ankle injury after slipping on the front court while going for a return but the Indian continued after taking a medical timeout.

He looked in pain and his on-court movement also looked restricted but despite all odds, he produced a sensational performance to come up trumps 13-21 21-9 21-12 to etch India's name in the history books.

It was a creditable performance from the Indian team, which on Thursday had snapped a 43-year long wait by reaching the semifinals with a 3-2 win over five-time champions Malaysia, a feat last achieved in 1979.

It was always going to be an uphill task for India to tame the formidable Denmark, which had become the first European country in history to secure the title in 2016.

A lot rode on world championship bronze medallist Lakshya Sen, given his recent win over Viktor Axelsen at the German Open Super 300 but he couldn't replicate his performance as the world number one scripted a comfortable 13-21 13-21 win to hand Denmark a 1-0 lead.