Thomas Cup: 2022 can be Indian badminton's equivalent of cricket's 1983, says Vimal Kumar

Vimal Kumar has seen Indian badminton travel through valleys and peaks. From Pullela Gopichand winning the All England to Saina Nehwal becoming world No.1 and PV Sindhu being crowned world champion, Vimal has witnessed it from the vantage point of a player, coach and manager. But when India slammed all the comeback doors on Indonesia in the Thomas Cup final on Sunday to be crowned champions, he said, "This is the best achievement of Indian badminton." Thomas Cup win: Wish Team IndiaAfter Malaysia in the quarterfinals and Denmark in the semis, India completed a hat-trick of giant-kills by stunning defending champions Indonesia 3-0. It was in a way reminiscent of India beating the mighty West Indies twice at the 1983 World Cup, including in the final, to win the trophy. Vimal didn't disagree.

"In 1983, when we won the cricket world cup, things turned around for cricket. I hope that happens to badminton now. I am expecting that sort of thing for Indian badminton. It's been a long time," said Vimal, who is with the victorious Indian team in Bangkok and spoke to a group of journalists from Thailand on Sunday evening.

"I am really, really happy. We are all now getting together, going out for a very nice meal. The (Badminton Association of India) president has given us the go-ahead. So we are going out for a party," said Vimal.

Until Sunday, India's badminton history was studded with individual feats; but doing well in a team event had always been a distant dream, which is what makes this achievement even more special. Vimal believes the foundation of this has been laid by the senior pros in the squad, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy.

Prannoy, who was selected as the third singles player in the squad, pulled off a couple of