India make history by lifting Thomas Cup after 3-0 win over Indonesia

India made history by becoming only the sixth nation to win the Thomas Cup after they convincingly overcame defending champions India 3-0 in the final on Sunday.

Their deserved victory was a result of immense character and self-belief among a talented group of shuttlers, who came to life in the knockout stages by eliminating Malaysia and Denmark for the showdown against the 14-time winners.

The first point was going to shape the direction of this contest and it pitted Lakshya Sen against Anthony Ginting in a top-10 clash.

Sen got off to a slow start as Ginting exploded into life with a 21-8 lead in the opening game.

The Indian stayed in the hunt in the next game as Ginting continued to attack whenever he saw an opening.

But the Indonesian was also making mistakes by trying to kill off the rallies, and Sen's patience eventually paid off with a 21-17 win.

Both shuttlers traded points in the decider until 14-14, before Sen crucially opened a four point after that to cross the line at 21-16.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy then doubled India's lead with a 18-21, 23-21, 21-19 victory over Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Mohammad Ahsan with a spirited fightback in the second and third game.

Sukamuljo-Ahsan, who were paired together for this tournament, looked sure bets to draw Indonesia level after winning the first game 21-18 and leading 20-17 in the second, but Rankireddy-Shetty battled hard to win the second 23-21, before cornering the Indonesians into mistakes in the decider to win 21-19.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Their victory put India within touching distance of history, as K. Srikanth was given the opportunity to make headlines by delivering the winning point against Jonatan Christie.

The world number 11 made it a perfect tournament with a 21-15, 23-21 over Christie to spark jubilant scenes among the rest of his team-mates, who rushed over to the court to celebrate an unprecedented success.

Besides the two finalists this year, China, Malaysia, Denmark and Japan were the only countries to have won the biennial affair.

South Korea, meanwhile, lifted the Uber Cup after they beat China 3-2 on Saturday.