Thomas Cup 2022: "You made 135 crore Indians proud," PM Modi tells victorious Team India

It was a historic day for India and badminton. On Sunday, India won the prestigious 2022 Thomas Cup badminton title for the first time. Played at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburi, Thailand, India registered a comfortable 3-0 win over defending champion Indonesia. It is the first time in the competition's 73-year history that India has reached the finals and even won it. Overall, it has become the sixth country to win the tournament to date. Meanwhile, besides the Indians, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the victorious Indian team. After the victory, he interacted with the team and let them know that they had made over 135 crore Indians proud with their historical performance.

Speaking to the Indian team via phone, Modi says, "I want the world to recognise us [India] as one of the greatest sporting nations. As for your performance, what has been surprising is that you did not lose in any of the rounds." Modi even asked the players what they felt about reaching until which round. At this time, Kidambi Srikanth said, "When we reached quarter-finals, we decided that we would give it all and win this. The entire team worked hard for it."

The Indian badminton team has scripted history! The entire nation is elated by India winning the Thomas Cup! Congratulations to our accomplished team and best wishes to them for their future endeavours. This win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersons.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2022

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Modi further asked how the team got so much confidence when it had never reached this far in the tournament, to which Srikanth added, "Since this competition happens to be a team sport, every team member helped each other and was motivated. Also, since we have performed well individually, we reckoned that this was the perfect opportunity to click as a team. Thus, we decided not to give up on this opportunity and give our 100%." Watch the full video above.