India reaches final of Thomas Cup, defeats Denmark in semis

India beat Denmark by 3-2 points to reach the final of the badminton championship Thomas Cup held in Bangkok on Friday. This is for the first time that the Indian team has assured of a medal in the event.

During the semi-final match, Indian Badminton player HS Prannoy defeated Danish player Rasmus Gemke to seal the Indian team’s position in the final.

In the first game Prannoy went down 13-21, but came back to win the second set by 21-9. He kept up his momentum and won the deciding game by 21-12.

Earlier, Indian player Kidambi Srikanth had given India a 2-1 lead in the Thomas Cup semi-final tie against Denmark at the Impact Arena in Thailand. Srikanth defeated Anders Antonsen 21-18, 12-21, 21-16.

Denmark’s Anders Skaruup Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard  who won the fourth match tie, played with Indian pair of Vishnuvardhan Panjala and Krishna Garaga to make it 2-2. 

Earlier, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy defeated Kim Astrup and Mathias Christiansen in the semi-final. After winning the first set 21-18, the Indian pair dropped two match points in the second as the Danish pair forced a decider. 

India will now face off against Indonesia in the final to be played on 15 May. Indonesia beat Japan 3-2 in their semi-final match.