THE STORY OF RESILIENCE AND COURAGE

BEHIND THE VICTORIOUS INDIAN CONTINGENT AT THOMAS CUP 2022

By Nishith Mehta

New Delhi, May 31st, 2022

Thomas Cup victory on the 15^th of May has proven to be a defining moment, not just for Indian Badminton but for the entire Indian sporting fraternity as the Indian contingent braved all odds to clinch their very first Thomas Cup trophy in 75 years.

Indian Sporting history has had many glorious chapters over the years, may it be the ’83 and ’11 Cricket World Cups, the heroic performance of Neeraj Chopra at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, or the spellbinding performance of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team to bag the bronze medal at the same venue. The Indian badminton scene has always given rise to many talented players, who have been bringing various international laurels to the country. However, the Thomas Cup victory on the 15^th of May has proven to be a defining moment, not just for Indian Badminton but for the entire Indian sporting fraternity as the Indian contingent braved all odds to clinch their very first Thomas Cup trophy in 75 years. The performance of the Indian contingent is worth its weight in gold, a perfect example of resilience, courage, determination, and sheer will. It was discussed around the world as a David and Goliath version of the sport, but what is not known to many is the enormous amount of hard work to achieve the sweet scent of success.

The Indian team got the better of the Indonesian Juggernaut which has been swinging past the finish line a record 14 times. It's rather interesting to note here that India’s track record so far in the Thomas Cup-also called the World Men’s Team Championship, before this year’s edition has been rather poor. Our best performances were decades back, during the 1952, 1955, and 1979 editions and since then the Indian contingents were never able to even reach the finals of this tournament. But as we have witnessed over the course of several years, the Indian sporting history is filled with innumerable examples of indomitable will and conviction displayed by our sports persons. And this success story of the young Indian contingent which went all guns blazing at the Thomas Cup proving to be victorious in the end is a testament to this very fact. The Asian dominance in this tournament and in this sport is unparalleled which has also been well documented.  Such was the dominance that for several editions of this tournament, it was either Indonesia or China who used to take the trophy home, giving no other nation even a fighting chance to survive in the tournament. It was as late as in 2016 when Denmark became the first ‘non-Asian’ nation to win the tournament by defeating the mighty Indonesian Contingent.

As a sportsperson, your life is indeed filled with a lot of hardships, and you experience lots of ups and downs as you progress further in your career. However, it's your desire to excel and the hunger to make a difference, which will help you cause an indelible mark in history books forever. As we discuss this success story, as a part of our ‘daily positive news’, it should be recalled that all watershed moments that we might have witnessed in our nation’s sporting history, have all started with a simple desire to perform at the highest level of excellence, despite the obstacles and deterrents that might come your way as you pave your path forward. Therefore, even as an academician myself, I always attempt to explain the real essence of hard work as the only alternative to success to my students.

Today we see the education sector experience various changes as a part of a choreographed upheaval of existing ideologies. Fortunately, sport proves to be an integral part of the present establishment’s policy manifesto, and let’s hope that Indian sports keep on reaching new heights of success and excellence. The policymakers across the nation should identify and understand the immediate need for educators to imbibe discipline and hard work as key qualities, right at the onset of early primary stages of education. 

We at Atmiya University always believe that in order to create the true leaders of tomorrow, we need to create transformative individuals who are well versed to meet the changing needs of the time to come. Resilience and courage are prerequisites for any aspirational leader and our success story today is a prime example of the same.

 The Writer, Nishith Mehta, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Atmiya University Rajkot.

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