“How’s The Josh?” Chirag Shetty Gives A Peek Into Thomas Cup-Winning Indian Badminton Team’s WhatsApp Group
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (left) and Chirag Shetty after winning their match in the Thomas Cup final.© AFP
The Indian men’s badminton team reached a new high on Sunday when it clinched the Thomas Cup title in Bangkok. The Indian side became only the sixth to win the prestigious tournament, often considered the world team championships of the sport. India defeated 14-time winners Indonesia 3-0 in the final. In the title clash, World Championships medallists Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective singles ties while the doubles team of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also won their match. It was truly a memorable achievement.
After the win, Prannoy revealed to NDTV, how they had made a Whatsapp group for the members of the Thomas Cup team. “I created that WhatsApp group. The name was ‘It’s coming home’ and it actually came home. That group was very necessary and important. Wanted a group where all the players were in it because there’s a lot of things that you can’t share with everyone out there. The players could discuss things very freely. And that really helped. We had issues and setbacks in between. We lost to Chinese Taipei in the group stage,” Prannoy said.
“To regroup after that loss was very important. The (WhatsApp) group helped each and every player immensely. We could just express what was needed.”
Prannoy’s teammate and doubles player Shetty has now shared a screenshot of the group. He revealed that the group was made on April 30 and a fortnight later they won the title.
30/04/2022 we made the group. 15/05/2022 we actually got it home. Name of the group “It’s coming home TUC” . P.S It’s an actual SS of our chat! #thomascup pic.twitter.com/Wb8bG3rbcI
— Chirag Shetty (@Shettychirag04) May 17, 2022
Promoted
In the final on Sunday, India went 2-0 up after Sen beat Anthony Ginting in the first singles match and then Rankireddy-Shetty defeated Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sukamuljo in the doubles.
It fell to Srikanth, a former World No.1, to seal the gold medal for India and he did just that to give India a 3-0 triumph.
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