The Indian team, which has never progressed beyond the semi-finals since 1979, showed tremendous fighting spirit as it came down one match to oust the 2016 champions.
Mission: The dream of over a billion has just come true. As the absolute champion stuff from our boys they became the first ev… https://t.co/wUfDQKbCtw
— Bai Media (@BAI_Media) 1652462148000
While the world championship silver medalist Kidambi Srikanto and world number 8 doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy And Chirag Shetty Keeping India in the hunt, HS Prannoy was once again left to take the team home when the tie was closed 2-2.
Prannoy suffered an ankle injury after slipping on the front court on his way back against world No. 13 Rasmus Gameke, but the Indian continued to play even after taking a medical timeout.
He looked in pain and his on-court movement also seemed restricted, but against all odds, he put up a sensational 13-21 21-9 21-12 to register India’s name in the history books.
Historic moment for India! HS Prannoy reaches the decider once again! India reached its first eve… https://t.co/ylifXw4FS5
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) 1652463143000
India will now take on 14-time champions Indonesia, the most successful team in history. Indonesia beat Japan 3-2 in the semi-finals.
It was a credible performance from the Indian team, which broke a 43-year-long wait last achieved in 1979 by reaching the semi-finals with a 3-2 win over five-time champions Malaysia on Thursday.
It was always going to be an uphill task for India to tame the formidable Denmark, which in 2016 became the first European country in history to claim the title.
The World Championships bronze medalist rode a lot target armyGiven his recent victory viktor axelsen in the German Open Super 300, but he could not repeat his performance as the world number one registered an easy 13-21, 13-21 win to give Denmark a 1-0 lead.
Denmark decided to split the world number 9 pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skarup Rasmussen into two halves, with Astrup partnering Mathias Christiansen in the first doubles.
However, Rankireddy and Shetty put on a stellar performance to get India back into the competition, beating Astrup and Christiansen 21-18 21-23 22-20 in the final leg.
The Indian pair faced five match points – two in the second game and three in the third game – before converting one to bring joy back to the Indian camp.
1-1 with a tie, world number 11 Srikanth and world number 3 player Anders Antonsen engaged in a battle for supremacy in the second singles, with the former taking a 21-18, 12-21, 21-15 result at the top to give India a 2-1 lead.
India’s second doubles combination of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala, however, was no match for Anders Skarup Rasmussen and Friedrich Sogard, losing 14–21, 13–21, as the tie was reduced to 2–2 after the fourth match. was placed on.
The veteran Prannoy then lost in the first game but took an unbelievable 11-1 lead in the second game despite the injury. He relied more on his attack to collect points while JemK failed to put pressure on the Indian.
Prannoy dominated the front court and soon returned to the competition with GameK making a lot of mistakes.
23rd-ranked Prannoy sealed his right with his trademark smash as Gemke’s defense was in shambles. The Indian was up 11-4 at the interval and dominated the proceedings.
With the Impact Arena resounding with “HSP” slogans, Prannoy secured nine match points with a straight line smash and sealed it on the second occasion as his teammates gathered together in celebration.