NEW DELHI: Kidambi Srikanth staged a remarkable rally, clinching a thrilling victory in a tense decider as India kept their dream of securing a historic gold medal at the Asian Games alive.
The Indian team advanced to the men’s team championships final with a hard-fought 3-2 triumph over South Korea in Hangzhou on Saturday, marking India’s first-ever appearance in the final of the team event at this prestigious continental competition.
World No. 7 HS Prannoy displayed incredible composure as he bounced back from losing the opening game to outplay Jeon Hyeok Jin, securing a 1-0 lead for India with a scoreline of 18-21, 21-16, 21-19.

However, in the first doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced a tough challenge, ultimately losing 13-21, 24-26 to the reigning world champions Seo Seung-Jae and Kang Min-hyuk, bringing the overall score to 1-1.
Lakshya Sen then delivered a commanding performance in the second singles match, reaffirming India’s position in the competition with a clinical 21-7, 21-9 victory over Lee Yungyu.
However, in the second doubles, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila faced a formidable pair in Kim Wonho and NA Sungseung, succumbing to a 16-21, 11-21 defeat. With the score tied once again, the teams were evenly matched as they headed into the decisive moments of the contest.
Srikanth, a 2021 World Championships silver medallist, then fought his way under pressure to struggle past world no. 163 Cho Geonyeop 12-21, 21-16, 21-14 and seal India’s place in the summit clash at the BJ Gymnasium.

India will look to live up to their Thomas Cup champions tag when they face multiple-time gold medallist China in the final on Sunday.
Saturday’s win assured India of at least a silver medal in badminton at the continental championships with two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu winning the first in women’s singles in the 2018 edition at Jakarta.
The last time the Indian men won a badminton medal in team championships was at the 1986 edition at Seoul where Sen’s mentor Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar played a crucial role.
In total, India have so far bagged 10 badminton medals in Asian Games history, including three individual singles medals, three men’s team bronze, two women’s team bronze and one medal each in men’s doubles and mixed doubles.
(With PTI Inputs)