How HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth proved to be the 'Zen masters' of India's Thomas Cup triumph
Bangkok, dressed in pristine whites, they numbered nine. The tenth member, Lakshya Sen, was already in Thailand; but the news about him was not good. He had flown in carrying a stomach bug he caught possibly from something he ate before boarding the flight from Bengaluru. Ten days later, Lakshya would turn up in India's first rubber of a dream Thomas Cup Final against Indonesia, He got hammered in the first game 8-21 by Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Anthony Ginting. "I thought he would lose." That was Vimal Kumar's thought, sitting inside Bangkok's Impact Arena with the Indian squad. Lakshya, 'the baby of the team' who has grown in the past year to stun some of the finest exponents of the sport, went on to beat Ginting at his own game over the next 45 minutes. He won 8-21, 21-16, 21-17 to give India a rousing start.
