Ex-India coach Ravi Shastri lauds PM Modi's 'terrific gesture' for Thomas Cup 2022 heroes

Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the latter's gestures towards the Indian men’s Badminton team following the Thomas Cup 2022 victory. The Indian Badminton team scripted a 3-0 victory over 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 finale and claimed their maiden title in the tournament. Upon arrival in India, last week, PM Modi met with the Indian contingent and interacted with them personally. 

Meanwhile, sharing his thoughts about PM Modi’s interaction with the Badminton players, Ravi Shastri wrote on Twitter, “Terrific gesture by Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji and @IndiaSports’ @ianuragthakur of celebrating a great bunch for achieving one of the greatest moments of Indian Sports #Inspiration #ThomasCup2022”.

Sharing the video of his interaction with the Thomas Cup 2022 heroes, PM Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter, “Interacted with our badminton champions, who shared their experiences from the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup. The players talked about different aspects of their game, life beyond badminton, and more. India is proud of their accomplishments.”

India's journey to Thomas Cup 2022 victory

During the Thomas Cup 2022 finals on May 15, India was off to a flying start in the finals of the Thomas Cup 2022 after 20-year-old Indian shuttler, Lakshya Sen earned a three-set victory over Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the men’s doubles match by 18-21, 23-21, and 21-19 against Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. Srikanth, meanwhile, earned a 21-15, 23-21 victory against Jonathan Christie to take India to glory. 

India fought against all odds and defeated multiple-time champions Indonesia, Denmark, and Malaysia to win the tournament for the first time. Team India earlier stormed into the finals of Thomas Cup 2022 after winning 3-2 against Denmark in the semi-final. At the same time, India claimed a 3-2 victory over Malaysia to seal a semi-final berth. Following India’s massive feat in badminton, the Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced a cash prize of INR 1 crore for the whole team. “I announce a cash prize of Rs 1 crore for the Indian badminton team on the behalf of myself and the sports ministry,” the Union Minister said in a video shared by the Press Information Bureau of India.

(Image: @Media_SAI/Twitter/@ravishastriofficial/Instagram)