India's pace in the Thomas Cup Finals 2022 has not stopped. Now, the country's steps have reached the final round. India has to beat the defending champion Indonesia to win the Thomas Cup.
In the semifinals, India defeated Denmark with a tight score of 3-2 at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand, Friday local time. Meanwhile, Indonesia also won with the same score over Japan.
The final match will be fierce. India has three experienced singles. While in the doubles, Indonesia has tough pairs.
The first match might bring together Lakshya Sen from India and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting on the court. In terms of ranking, Anthony is superior because he is in the fifth position while Sen is four levels below him. However, Lakshya, who was also a former world number one as a junior, had defeated Ginting in the round of 16 of the German Open with a landslide score of 21-7, 21-9. But in the 2022 Thomas Cup, it seems like Anthony has found his best performance again. After losing continuously in the preliminary round of Group A, he was able to contribute points in important matches in the quarter-finals against China and the semifinals against Japan. The one who was defeated against Japan was also not a random badminton player, Kento Momota, the former world number one.
In doubles, India has a pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty world’s #8. Almost certainly they will be trusted again. Meanwhile, Indonesia will still trust the impromptu pair in the Thomas Cup, Mohammad Ahsan/Kevin Sanjaya. Although not a permanent couple, the performance of the two has been convincing. In fact, in the semifinals, both of them contributed points with their solid games.
In the third match, we might see Jonatan Christie from Indonesia against Srikanth Kidambi from India. Previously, Christie and Kidambi have met nine times, five of which were won by Christie. The last time, they met in the semifinals of the Korea Open 2022 and Jojo was ahead 21-19, 21-16.
Now, in the second doubles, India has two pairs that are alternately playing, namely Arjun M.R./Dhruv Kapila, ranked 38, and Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala (45). However, seeing the results of the semifinals of Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala who lost, India might entrust their second double to Arjun M.R./Dhruv Kapila. The defeat in the semifinals was also a consideration for Indonesia to go with the world number seven doubles, Muhammad Rian Ardianto/Fajar Alfian. In the previous matches, the Indonesian pair has always won over Arjun M.R./Dhruv Kapila. Meanwhile, they have never met Krishna Prasad Garaga / Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala. Indonesia needs careful consideration to play the All England 2022 champion Bagas Maulana/Muhammad Sohibul Fikri because the pair is yet to have enough experience in the Thomas Cup and the burden is very heavy given that it is the final match.
If the match is carried out until the fifth party, Indonesia will most likely field Shesar Hiren Rhustavito and India might feature Prannoy H.S. Interestingly, the rankings of the two only differ by one digit. Rhustavito is in 24th position and his opponent is one level above. The two have met twice and all have been won by Prannoy.
Will India be able to wrap their series of surprises?
