Bigger than any individual achievement, India will now be considered a badminton superpower: Prakash Padukone

Thomas Cup victory will make it a "badminton superpower" as it has well and truly arrived on world stage with an achievement, which is way bigger than any individual accomplishment, feels legendary Prakash Padukone. India on Sunday dethroned defending champions and 14-time winners Indonesia with a commanding 3-0 win in the summit clash of the Thomas Cup Final to script a historic win.

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Exactly 28 years back, the Indian government had refused to send the badminton contingent to the 1994 Commonwealth Games as it was so confident that they cannot finish in the top-6, that too competing with the likes of England, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka etc.

"I didn't expect this to happen so early, not at least in the next 8-10 years. I think we have truly arrived and India will be considered a superpower and a threat from now on. It will give a big fillip to the sport," Padukone, India's first All England Champion in 1980, told PTI during an exclusive interaction. Padukone has no doubt that this Indian badminton's watershed moment and there is a need to capitalise and build on this stupendous success. "It was a complete team effort and a convincing win and a momentous occasion. I think it is equally great or perhaps greater than the Individual success. We needed this and I think our moment has truly arrived. Now there is no looking back and it's time to capitalise on it."

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Indian badminton owes a lot of its success to Gopichand's coaching. Winning the Thomas Cup is mission accomplished for Gopichand. The men have scaled a peak, which even the famed Indian women failed to.

Padukone, who had led