 "Thomas Cup, Chirag Shetty")
The Indian badminton squad which created history by winning the coveted Thomas Cup, had four star shuttlers employed with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, said on Thursday.
May 15, 2022, turned out to be a red-letter day for Indian Badminton, as the national team scripted history by lifting the coveted Thomas Cup for the first time defeating 14 times champions Indonesia by a 3-0 margin in the final.
"Leading India's charge at the 2022 edition of the Thomas Cup were IndianOil's leading Badminton stars - four in all - Singles Ace & Bronze Medallist at the 2021 World Championships, Lakshya Sen, the dangerous Doubles Duo & Thailand Open (Super 500) 2019 Champions, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and the fast-rising Doubles player, M R Arjun, a Bronze medallist at 2020 Asia Team Championships," the firm said in a statement.
The team is coached by another IndianOil star and 2001 All England Winner, Pullela Gopichand, who is assisted by National Coach and former Doubles ace Arun Vishnu.
Also part of the Indian squad was former IndianOil Sports Scholars Priyanshu Rajawat and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.
In the opening singles match of the all-important final against Indonesia, IOCian Lakshya Sen registered a superb victory to put India ahead in the tie. Chirag and Satwiksairaj then took centre stage and won a nail-biting thriller in three hard-fought games to give India a formidable two-nil lead. After that, former IOCian, K Srikanth put the issue beyond Indonesia by winning in straight games.
Congratulating the winners, IOC chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said, "The ace IndianOil shuttlers have created history, and it is a moment of great pride for the entire IndianOil family. As IndianOil prepares to leap forward to a new era of progress as the 'Energy of India', we are also determined to expand our sporting footprint across the nation. And success stories like these will strengthen our focus to walk the extra mile to nurture budding sports stars of the country".
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This phenomenal performance from the IOC shuttlers reflects the firm's sustained focus on nurturing sporting excellence across the country, the firm said adding it has consistently recognized sports as a cornerstone of wholesome progress.
And as a social enterprise, the company has been on the frontlines as far as nurturing sporting talents and bolstering the sporting infrastructure in the country is concerned.
IOC recognized many budding sports stars, believed in their potential and supported their dreams of bringing laurels to the nation. Many of these players have become household names today, including Pulela Gopichand, Rohit Sharma, Cheteswar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Manika Batra, Sharath Kamal, the Olympic medal-winning trio of Dilpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and Simranjeet Singh.
Moreover, IOC is the only Indian Corporate to boast a full-fledged Women's Hockey Team.
"IndianOil's sporting forays are guided by a comprehensive sports policy that aims to reshape the sporting culture in India and make the nation a powerhouse in sports across multiple disciplines. IndianOil's sporting outreaches cover cricket, hockey, badminton, tennis, table tennis, golf, billiards/snooker, athletics, chess, carrom, archery and shooting," the statement said.
To take care of the varied needs of its sporting talent pool, IOC has a dedicated Sports Cell that comprises ex-sports persons who will handhold and support IndianOil's budding sporting talent and guide them to the pinnacle of success.
The firm's remarkable sporting contributions were acknowledged at the highest level when it was bestowed with the prestigious 'Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2021'.
The President of India presented the special award to Vaidya. IOC also received the 'Sportstar Aces Award 2022' under 'Best Corporate/PSU' to promote sports.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
