‘Loss to Chinese Taipei brought the team together’: Thomas Cup champion MR Arjun MR

It’s been two days since India did the hitherto unimaginable– profitable the final word workforce title in badminton, the Thomas Cup. India’s doubles specialist Arjun MR continues to be flying excessive, similar to his teammates Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, doubles duo Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and his associate Dhruv Kapila, with whom he shaped the second pairing.

The males’s workforce demolished Indonesia, the 14-time match royalty to carry the Thomas Cup for the very first time. According to Arjun, their technique was easy. “No high hopes; we took one match at a time”, the 25-year-old mentioned, whereas speaking to indianexpress.com.

A meticulously executed grasp class efficiency by Srikanth, Rankireddy, Shetty, Sen and Prannoy helped them carry their maiden trophy after beforehand reaching the Thomas Cup semis in 1952, 1955, and 1979. But the workforce did face hiccups alongside the best way.

Despite their spirited struggle, the Indian males misplaced to Chinese Taipei in group C match and that impacted their confidence. “As the team suffered a deficit in the group match, many of us took it personally,” Arjun mentioned of the 3-2 loss.

However, M R believes that the loss performed a pivotal position of their journey, as there got here a second when the workforce bonded as one. “For our team, that loss was monumental, because we realised, we were in this together. It is not often we get to play at a team event. But, the entire squad was there for each other, constantly.”

“Thereafter, we made sure to celebrate all our victories. Especially after the semi-finals where we were assured of a medal. Nothing else mattered to us when we ran on to the court, dancing on the court, media room and chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’,” he added.

Arjun’s private street to victory was no mattress of roses both. He examined optimistic for Covid-19, with all potential signs, per week earlier than the choice trials for the championship.

“I just had three days to get my body back in shape and be ready in whatever way possible and to be honest, I worked really hard, in silence”, the 25-year-old mentioned.

“I eventually went on to win the trials and got into both Thomas Cup and the Asian games team and that was emotional for me, winning it, against all odds,” M R added. “From there on, there was no holding back”. However, for him, that was not the most important problem he confronted.

Arjun remembered feeling the strain of expectations from folks in and across the fraternity. “Word was going around that the team would ‘go all the way’. Everyone had hope. All our pre-match interviews too talked about how they saw ‘us lifting the trophy”. M R mentioned that it was vital for him and his teammates to not get affected by the hype and focus on the matches as they got here”.

After the historic triumph, the Indian workforce was showered with reward and good needs from throughout the nation in addition to the world. But what stood out for the workforce was the cellphone name from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“It was surreal”, Arjun mentioned, recalling the second. “I remember our team manager getting a message from the Prime Minister’s office, asking for phone interaction. And within 15 minutes, we get a call from the prime minister himself”.

Describing the cellphone interplay as a ‘much-needed motivation’, Arjun remembered how the prime minister knew all of their names, the rating and who performed what. “We were surprised and thrilled at the same time. It was a 10 to 12-minute informal conversation, at the end of which, we got invited to his office, for a personal meeting.”

Arjun, a resident of Cheranallur, Kochi has been enjoying the game competitively since he was 11 years previous. He presently trains on the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. But who knew he could be part of historical past, sweeping 3-0 Indonesia within the finals, denying them their 15 title.

“To be a part of the team is huge for me! Being from Kerala alongwith Prannoy is extra special because in my state, the sport is not very popular. I hope my participation and our achievements serve as a ray of hope to many budding players” M R added of a hub that’s all the time produced wonderful doubles expertise with explosive jumps.

Though the workforce dished out a efficiency for the ages, Arjun emphasied the truth that badminton has an extended solution to go within the nation. He believes that the game is but to get the popularity it wants in India.

“There’s cricket, and then there is football. We just won Thomas Cup, which is equivalent to the football world cup—something people are much more familiar with and that speaks volumes.”

“I was surprised when people didn’t know that Pranoy was a Malayalee. For me, that explains a lot about how unknown the sport and its players are in the country,” he added. MR hopes that this hole finally lessens, bringing far more consideration and probabilities to budding gamers.

Despite the dearth of help and recognition of the game, Arjun says nothing beats the satisfaction of listening to your nationwide anthem on the podium.

“Never in the history of Thomas Cup or Uber Cup, we’ve heard India’s national anthem and that’s a privilege for those who finish first at the podium. With all of us standing together, saluting the flag and listening to our national anthem, it was proud, yet an emotional moment for us” he mentioned.

Arjun presently stands at world quantity 40, along with his 22-year-old associate Dhruv Kapila. The duo’s career-best was world quantity 32.

As Asian Games 2022, which have been scheduled to be held in September within the Chinese metropolis of Hangzhou, have been postponed till 2023 as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, M R hopes to maneuver ahead in world rankings via particular person tournaments on the circuit.