“India’s 2022 Thomas Cup win should have done for badminton what 1983 did for Indian cricket”: Chirag Shetty

In the latest episode of Backstage with Boria, Chirag Shetty reflected on India’s bronze-medal finish at the recent Thomas Cup. He alsoopened up on the issue of recognition when it comes to non-mainstream sports. He pointed out how many fans still do not fully understand the magnitude of India’s 2022 Thomas Cup triumph, among other major victories.

Chirag highlighted how countries like the United States do an exceptional job of marketing and promoting individual sports, something he believes India must learn from.

He detailed how India’s 2022 Thomas Cup triumph, if handled and promoted correctly, could have transformed badminton in India.

He also shared his mindset and expectations ahead of the upcoming Asian Games.

Boria: Your thoughts on the performance.

Chirag: When you’ve actually tasted victory on the biggest stage, like the Thomas Cup, you just want to go out there and win it again. Anything less than that won’t make you as happy. In 75 years of history, we didn’t have a single medal. And probably six or seven years back, if we were told that we would get two medals, I think we would have taken it any day, irrespective of the colour.

But that win against Chinese Taipei was really special, considering they were a much higher-ranked team than us.

Boria: Can you put the importance of the Thomas Cup into context, please?

Chirag: Of all the individual medals I’ve won so far, including becoming world No. 1, if not the happiest, it’s definitely one of the happiest moments for sure.

I would rate the Thomas Cup and Asian Games as the happiest I’ve felt on a court so far.

Badminton is an individual sport, so you don’t get to play a lot of team events. But winning the Thomas Cup is, I think all badminton players would say, right up there. It stands alongside the World Championships and the Olympics.

Boria: How can it be that there were no doubles in the first three matches?

Chirag: Definitely. I don’t think the Badminton World Federation before this would have imagined that a strong badminton nation would have their singles players playing doubles as well. I think it was a very unprecedented situation, and they really need to relook at the rules of team events like the Thomas Cup. There should have been at least one men’s doubles match in the first three matches.

Even for the fans who come to the stadiums, they are robbed of a doubles match. It happened because France beat Japan in the quarter-finals and Japan had a really strong doubles pair.

When Lakshya Sen won his first singles match in the Chinese Taipei tie, it changed the momentum in our favour. So, when we went onto the court, we knew we were already 1-0 up. Mentally, we were not under as much pressure as we would have been had we been 0-1 down, because then it becomes do or die for us. So, the argument saying that you lost 3-0 doesn’t really matter. But when it becomes 2-1, it becomes evenly poised.

I would say that the pressure of a team event like the Thomas Cup is very different because you’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for the country and the team. So, it’s a different kind of pressure and the matches can change really quickly.

Boria: How depressing or disappointing is it to have no fans?

Chirag: We didn’t expect anybody to come because nobody really knows about the magnitude of the sport. I saw a lot of tweets saying that you need to win big events if you are demanding something like this. But my point is, we already won it in 2022. Cricket won their first World Cup in 1983 and then in 2007. So, for 20 or 30 odd years, it’s not as though they didn’t get any recognition. It’s a very stupid argument to say that if you don’t win this, you won’t be recognised by anybody.

And yeah, to answer your question, our main concern is that when we won the 2022 Thomas Cup, we didn’t get the reception we should have received. The Thomas Cup was the 1983 moment for Indian badminton and it should have done for Indian badminton what 1983 did for Indian cricket, but it didn’t happen because India is not yet a sporting nation. We need to celebrate these wins because we do not have too many of them like China or the USA.

It felt really bad because nobody talks about the 2022 win. Our ranking is eighth in the world and when we won it back in 2022, we were ranked seventh or sixth. So, to put it into perspective, it’s like Bangladesh going on to win the cricket World Cup. For us to go out there and win the title was simply incredible.

Boria: Do you feel a sense of disappointment and frustration at this kind of lopsidedness in Indian sport?

Chirag: Yeah, I’ve always been someone who felt that if I deserve recognition, I shouldn’t be demanding it. People should recognise me for my effort. But having seen what happened in 2022, and having been in the sport for so long, it feels really sad to realise that if we don’t voice it, then it will never happen.

And I think it’s true for sports in general. A sporting culture needs to develop and then, automatically, you’ll see more and more medals. Also, when people want their kids to take up sport, there shouldn’t be a question of why.

Boria: I think a synergistic effort needs to be made to package and market the sport better. Your thoughts?

Chirag: Yeah, the sport really needs to be marketed better. I feel we have the performances. We have Olympic medals; we have the Thomas Cup. There’s no major event that Indian badminton has not won. Cricket has been marketed really well.

I always look at what the USA does with its sports. I think it’s not just the NBA or NFL, but even sports in general. For example, the way they promote a sport like gymnastics is really good. In India, I’ve never seen a sport being celebrated apart from cricket. Yeah, it’s getting better, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Boria: Asian Games. How are you looking at it?

Chirag: Yeah, it’s definitely a major event for us this year. The World Championships (BWF) are also a month before that.

We are the defending champions, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves by thinking about that. Last time, we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest on and off the court, and the results just happened. We weren’t playing our best going into the Asian Games, but we had a very positive environment and that really worked well for us.

This time around too, I want to do the same and give my best. If we are able to play anywhere close to our best, then we can go very deep into the tournament.

Boria: Thank you so much for your time.

[Interview transcribed by Divyasree De]

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EXCLUSIVE

“The sport really needs to be marketed better”

From calling the 2022 Thomas Cup triumph Indian badminton’s “1983 moment” to speaking boldly about the lack of recognition for Olympic and global achievements — @Shettychirag04 doesn’t hold back.

On Backstage with… pic.twitter.com/lBEVP9thhx

— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 7, 2026

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