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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday termed the Thomas Cup triumph of the Indian badminton team as one of the country's finest sporting wins and invited the shuttlers to his residence on returning from Bangkok.
The PM never forgets to applaud the achievements of athletes, and on Sunday, he promptly dialled the players to congratulate them on their stupendous success, thanked their parents for helping them develop into world beaters and doing the country proud with their exploits on the global stage.
The Indian men's team produced a historic performance to blank 14-time winners Indonesia 3-0 in the summit showdown of the prestigious tournament.
"You all have made it ... It is one of India's finest sporting wins," PM Modi said during the call.
Flanked by his teammates, Kidambi Srikanth spoke to the PM first, followed by Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Chirag Shetty.
The PM also took note of the fact the Indian team won the final without dropping a match, and mentioned it during the interaction with the players. He said it made the win even more special.
The PM said his office would coordinate the players' visit to his residence.
Aware of India's record in the tournament, the PM asked when did the team start to think that it could go all the way to pull off a win of this magnitude and create history.
Srikanth said that it was after the win over Malaysia in the quarterfinals that the team started to believe that it can do something special this time around. Sen and Prannoy echoed Srikanth's thoughts, while thanking the PM for his encouragement and motivation.
Modi said the team's coaches also deserve a lot of credit for this achievement, while observing that the quarterfinals was a neck-to-neck affair.
In beating Indonesia by such a margin, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and the doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy conjured one of the most remarkable feats in the country's sporting history.
After being off-colour in the knockout stages, Sen delivered when it mattered the most as he gave India a 1-0 lead with a come-from-behind 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 win over world number five Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, in a superb show of temperament and skill.
The country's best doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then showed nerves of steel as it saved four match points in the second game to eventually outwit Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21, 23-21, 21-19.
In the second singles, Srikanth produced a fine performance to outclass Asian Games gold medallist Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 in 48 minutes to seal the contest.
Sports Ministry announces Rs one crore reward for victorious Indian men's badminton team
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore to the Indian men's badminton team which created history by winning the coveted Thomas Cup title for the first time.
India scripted a spectacular 3-0 victory over 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup final in Bangkok on Sunday.
“India's extraordinary feat of winning the Thomas Cup with successive victories over Malaysia, Denmark and Indonesia in the play-offs called for a relaxation of rules," said Thakur in a statement.
"It is with pride that I announce the award of Rs 1 crore to the team that Indians so much joy this weekend.”
Thakur complimented the players, coaches and support staff of the Indian team for the historic triumph.
“Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy kept a clean slate by winning each time they stepped on court. The doubles combination of SatwiksairakjRankireddy and Chirag Shetty raised the bar to win decisive points in five of the six matches, including all three in the knockout stage," he said.
"Lakshya Sen showed nerves of steel in winning the opening match against Indonesia. I am sure that doubles combination of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila ad Krishna Prasad Garaga and Panjala Vishnuvardhan Goud as well as Priyanshu Rajawat will have gained immensely by being part of this historic campaign."
The Sports Ministry said it contributed to the unprecedented success of the team by providing the players training and competition support.
"A 10-week National Camp starting January helped raise fitness levels of the players. The support to engage Mathias Boe as coach to assist the doubles combinations has been significant as well," the statement added.
"Over the past four years, the Ministry has extended funding worth Rs 67.19 crore to the Indian badminton players towards training and competition, including salaries of foreign and Indian coaches."
"And in the past year alone, the Ministry has supported as many as 14 international exposure trips at a cost of Rs 4.50 crore."
Andhra Pradesh Governor, CM hail 'historic' Thomas Cup win
Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated the Indian badminton team for winning the Thomas Cup Badminton Championship and creating history.
The Governor said in a statement that it was a great achievement for the Indian team to win the Cup without losing a single match in the final against Indonesia.
"The team has done the country proud and it deserves all praise for an outstanding performance," Harichandan said.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister said, "A historic moment for Indian badminton as India brings home its first #ThomasCup! Congratulations to Srikanth Kidambi and team India for their spectacular win in the finals and their remarkable journey up to the last shot".
"Talent combined with strong teamwork is the perfect recipe for success. Heartiest congratulations to Lakshya Sen, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and HS Prannoy for making history today. #ThomasCup," Jagan said in another tweet.