First time finalists India are taking on 14-time champions and defending champions Indonesia in the prestigious Thomas Cup final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok on Sunday.

India, whose previous best was a top four finish in 1979, will face giants Indonesia in their maiden final. This will be a final between the underdogs and giants.

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Indonesia, a tradition powerhouse of badminton, have two players who are ranked in top 10. They also have the best doubles players. Though the golden generation of Indian male shuttlers are on the verge of creating a history, they are not favourites. While India beat Malaysia and Denmark on their way to the final, Indonesia have trounced heavyweights China and Japan in the knockout.

But in a highly intense and unpredictable game like badminton, numbers and previous results may matter little when Indian shuttlers are in an enviable form. Given Indian shuttlers’ superb form, it would not be an exaggeration to claim that a gold is not beyond their reach.

The Indian team is a mixed of experienced veterans and young emerging talent. Throughout this tournament, they have been giving their best, and that too regularly. The Thomas Cup final is a chance for Indian male shuttlers to come out of the shadows of the achievements of Indian women’s shuttlers.

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Kidambi Srikanth-led Indian team is high on confidence after beating two powerhouses of badminton – Malaysia and Denmark in the knockouts. Their skills, form and temperament are in right place now. Any upsate victory would not surprising.

How are the draws are decided?

In the Thomas Cup, the match draws are decided based on BWF rankings, which means the top-ranked players face off in first, and so on. This will then be the likely playing order:

Sen vs Ginting

World No. 9 Lakshya Sen, a World Championship bronze medallist, will take on World No. Anthony Ginting in the opening match. Sen has been a bit off-colour in the big matches so far, having lost his last three opening matches to higher ranked players Chou Tien Chen, Lee Zii Jia and Viktor Axelsen. Ginting, too, didn’t have the best of starts, losing all three matches in the group stage, before bouncing back with three-game wins in the quarters and semis.

Sen, however, enjoys 1-0 head-to-head record against Ginting. In March, he beat the Indonesian in the German Open. In the final, he would like to make amends of his defeats in previous ties.

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Sen is the youngest member of the team. His senior team members Srikanth and big match beast HS Prannoy, who has been in form of his life, will look forward to repeat the results of their previous matches.

Srikanth vs Christe

Captain Srikanth, the World Championships silver medallist, must win against Christe Jonathan to allow Prannoy to play the fifth tie. World No 11 Srikanth has had a 100% record (5/5) this week and will be up against World No. 8 Christie, who has lost just one match in Bangkok so far. Christie has been in good form in 2022, with a title at the Swiss Open and runners-up finishes at the Korea Open and the Asian Championships, beating Srikanth – who has a 4-5 record against Christie – in two of those. But Srikanth is playing at good mental level and would look to tie the record to keep India alive in the final.

Prannoy and Rhustavito

If the final goes to the wire, World No 23 Prannoy will likely play World No 24 Shesar Hiren Rhustavito. He has been a wild card in this loaded Indonesian line-up – having won all three group games (where all matches are played) and stepping up to seal the semi-final against Japan after not being needed in the quarters against China. Prannoy, meanwhile, has won all five matches he has played, two under intense pressure and even an injured ankle.

The two have played each other twice before with the Indian leading 2-0, but that was back in 2010 and 2017 so this final will be a clean slate. Both players will be brimming with confidence given their latest exploits.

Doubles

For Prannoy to get another shot at creating history, India will have to overcome what might be the biggest obstacle in this Thomas Cup final – the night of doubles.

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They have top three doubles players in the team – Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan – in their ranks (Marcus Gideon is injured). They also have the world no. 7 pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. To give context of their strength in this department — the 2022 All England champions (Muhammad Fikri and Bagas Maulana) are in the reserves while last month’s Asian Championships winners (Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan) are not even in the squad!

For India, the world no. 8 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be tasked with stopping this juggernaut.

But the second doubles pair, has switched between the relatively untested, selection trial winning pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala and MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, who have a bit more experience on tour. This might prove to be a decisive call if it comes to it.

It would eventually be a contest between minnows and giants. Can India’s male shuttlers break tradition and win their maiden Thomas Cup gold?