Thomas Cup Final: Sports Minister announces ₹1 crore cash award to Indian badminton team

India's Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced a cash reward of ₹1 crore to the victorious Indian badminton team after winning the Thomas Cup on Sunday.

The Indian badminton team rewrote history when they won the Thomas Cup in their debut final, shocking 14-time champions Indonesia.

India, led by Lakshya Sen, Satiwksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth, did not lose a single match to win the tie 3-0.

The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur, congratulated the Indian team for the win and announced a cash reward.

Indian badminton team ace the Thomas Cup

India's maiden triumph in the Thomas Cup came on the back of an excellent performance from the shuttlers.

World Championship medallist Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and doubles players Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy delivered when it mattered the most to stun the 14-time champions.

Read: Thomas Cup Final 2022: "Deserves a Thai massage!" - Twitter erupts as Lakshya Sen comes from behind to win over Tokyo Olympic bronze medal winner

After being off-colour in the rest of the knockout stages, Lakshya handed India a 1-0 lead in the final with a come-from-behind 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 win over world number five Anthony Ginting.

In the second match, the country’s best doubles pair of Satwiksairaj and Chirag showed nerves of steel as they saved four match points in the second game to beat Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21, 23-21, 21-19 in a grueling encounter.

Later, Srikanth outclassed Asian games gold medallist Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 in just 48 minutes to seal a historic win.

Srikanth played a measured game, keeping the rallies short and nailing it every time the shuttle was in his hitting range.

It worked as his precise smashes on both the flanks earned him points.

Srikanth was 8-3 up but he committed too many unforced errors, allowing Christie to draw parity at 15-15.

The Indian kept things under control, making it 20-16 and then sealed it when Christie went to net.

The second game was no different but Srikanth managed a three-point advantage at the interval.

After the break, Christie turned the tables with a six-point burst from 10-13 to take a three-point cushion.

However, a couple of errors from Christie helped Srikanth draw level at 18-18.

Srikanth grabbed a championship point with a smash and sealed it with another cracking high-jump smash to complete a memorable win.

WATCH: Lakshya Sen celebrates by falling on the floor after beating Anthony Ginting to give India 1-0 lead in Thomas Cup 2022 final