<h5>Can you tell me some fun facts about badminton? </h5>  <p>People across India, Greece, and China have been playing some form of badminton for over two thousand years. However, its transformation from a simple pastime to a proper game happened in India.</p>
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<p>In the 1860s, the Britishers stationed in India learnt the game from locals and added a couple of their own twists to it. Back then badminton was called Poonah, after the town (Pune) where the Britishers learnt the game from Indians.</p>
<p>The Duke of Beaufort also became a fan of the game and renamed it badminton after his estate, the Badminton House.
</p> <h5>What is the Thomas Cup?</h5>  <p>The Thomas Cup is a men’s badminton tournament that is informally called the World Cup of Badminton (the women’s version of it is called the Uber Cup). The tournament was created in honour of Sir George Thomas, the founder of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The first Thomas Cup games were held in 1948.</p>
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<p>The game has been dominated by two countries - Indonesia, which won the Cup fifteen times, and China, which won it ten times. Denmark is the only non-Asian country to have won the Cup (which it did in 2016).</p>
<p>India made it to the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup in 1952, 1955, and 1979, but it never won the Cup. That was until this year when India won the Thomas Cup (yay us!).
</p> <h5>How come we won the Cup now when we had not for so many decades?</h5>  <p>Pullela Gopichand is the Chief National Coach for the Indian national badminton team. He said that the men in India’s team were committed to helping each other improve.</p>
<p>Gopichand also said that these team members had a point to prove because they had faced many losses in the past. Some of them lost at the Olympics while others did not even qualify for the Olympics. Some had lost big matches. This time, they were determined to prove that they are worthy athletes.</p>
<p>Prannoy HS, one of the players, said, “I think it was one of the best Indian teams to come into Thomas Cup. Look at the team, everybody is stepping up and everybody wants to prove a point. We are just going to fight until the end, no matter what.”</p>
<p>So there you have it, the recipe for team India’s phenomenal success - teamwork + determination.
</p> <h5>Who were all the players that brought the prize home?</h5>  <p>The athletes who played in the Singles matches were Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, and Priyanshu Rajawat. Those who played in the Doubles were Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, M.R Arjun, Dhruv Kapila, Krishna Prasad Garaga, Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.</p>
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<p>In the first round, India beat Germany and Canada but lost to Taiwan. In the quarter-final, India beat Malaysia and in the semi-final, we beat Denmark. Last year, India lost to Denmark in the quarter-finals. So, you can imagine how far our team has progressed. But the best was yet to come.</p>
<p>India defeated the defending champion and world leader of the Thomas Cup, Indonesia, with a score of 3-0. That means India won all three rounds to bring the Cup home. Isn’t that an incredible real-life David versus Goliath story?
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The Thomas Cup is the world’s biggest badminton tournament. India won the Thomas Cup for the first time ever on 15th May 2022. Let’s read all about this fabulous win.

India Brings Home Its Maiden Thomas Cup

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India Brings Home Its Maiden Thomas Cup

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