Best chance for Denmark to win the elusive Thomas Cup

By Prakash Padukone

KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 10. The 21st edition of Thomas/Uber Cups get underway at Stadium Putra this evening. Eight countries have qualified for the final rounds of Thomas Cup, the symbol of supremacy in the world men's team event, and a similar number in the Uber Cup, symbol of supremacy in the women's team event.

The qualifying rounds were held in Delhi and Sofia (Bulgaria) in February this year and six teams in all qualified from both venues. These six teams were joined by the host, Malaysia, holder of Thomas and Uber Cups, Indonesia and China respectively to complete the top eight. India has done well to qualify in the Thomas Cup after a gap of 12 years - the last time we did so was in 1988.

There is no doubt that the game has been dominated by the Asians since its inception. Only three teams - Malaysia, Indonesia and China - have managed to win the prestigious Thomas Cup in the last 52 years. Indonesia has won it the maximum number of times - 11 including the last edition held in 1998 at Hong Kong - followed by Malaysia (five times) and China (four times). Even Denmark has been able to lay its hands on either the Thomas or Uber Cup.

Unlike the previous years, there is no clear favourite for the Thomas Cup this time. No country has a distinct advantage and the title could go either to Indonesia, China, Malaysia or Denmark. Let us analyse each of the teams in fray for the Thomas Cup.

Indonesia: Its traditional strength has been the paired events. However of late, it has lacked depth in singles. Until the last edition in 1998, it was not sure of two points, through its doubles pairs - Ricky and Rexy, and Sigit Budiarto/Candra Wijaya. But not anymore. Even though Indonesia has good doubles pairs, it is not unbeatable. In fact, the Indonesians have not won any major doubles titles recently. The Korean pairs have overtaken them and have been more consistent on the circuit. This is bound to put a lot of pressure on the singles players. It will be a hard task for the Indonesians to retain the title. The team will have to depend a lot on the young Indonesian sensation, Taufik Hidayat, but whether he can perform under pressure remains to be seen. In fact, Hendrawan, who has more experience in the Thomas Cup than Taufik, might be preferred for the first singles in some of the matches.

China: It has managed to produce a couple of good singles players in Xia Xuanze and Ji Xin Peng, both finalists of this year's All England held in March. In addition, China has experienced players like world champion, Sun Jun, Luo Yigang and Chen Hong to support them in the singles. However, China is not as strong in the doubles which could prove to be a handicap for it. Nevertheless, the Chinese are known to be great fighters and can never be taken lightly. They certainly look formidable on paper.

A lot would depend on the fitness of Sun Jun, reigning world champion. Sun Jun has not played for a while due to an ankle injury and his current fitness is not known. He was in Delhi as well as during the Asian zone preliminaries, but did not play a single match. Like Taufik, the two Chinese youngsters would also find it tough to play a team event like Thomas Cup. It is one thing to play open tournaments, but a quite different proposition to perform under pressure in a team event. One needs nerves of steel and only the toughest can survive.

Denmark has never won the Thomas Cup in spite of being a European giant and reaching the finals on six occasions. Despite having players of the calibre of Erland Cops, Hammedrgard Hanslu, Finn Kobero,, Svend Pri, Flemming Delfs, Morten Frost, Peter Gade etc. at different times, Denmark has not been able to break the monopoly of the Asian giants.

This year could be a good opportunity for the Danes to win their maiden title. But again, it will not be easy. The problem with the Danes has been that they have never combined well as a team. The Danish players have always excelled in individual events. Perhaps there is not enough incentive for the players to win a team event like the Thomas and Uber Cup compared to their Asian counterparts, who are flooded with gifts and prize money if they win the Thomas Cup. This is not to suggest that the Danes do not try hard enough while playing team events. It is just that they have clicked as a team as yet.

Malaysia is the Dark Horse of the tournament, mainly because it will be playing in front of the home crowd. A fullhouse is expected on the days when Malaysian men take the court. It is not easy to beat Malaysia in its backyard. Its last victory was in 1992 also in Kuala Lumpur. This time the team is being led by 32- year-old Rashid Sidek. He will be ably assisted by World No. 4 and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Wong Choon Han, Ong Ewe Hock, Yong Hock Kin and Roslin Hashim. Malaysia's primary concern will be to make it to the last four stage. It has a tough opening encounter against Korea on the 12th. This tie could prove decisive as it is likely to decide the top two qualifiers from this group. If the host can make it to the semifinal stage it will be in with a good chance to win the cup.

Korea: It is strong in doubles, but weak in singles. This has been its weak point over the years. On current form, it is expected to only create an upset or two, but nothing beyond.

The other three teams in the fray, India, England and Sweden, do not have the required allround strength to upset the applecart of their more fancied opponents.

China is the clear favourite for the Uber Cup. No other team has the depth and bench strength to match the Chinese girls. The competition will be mainly for the runner-up spot and this could be fought between Denmark and Korea.

Indonesia will certainly miss the services of its star player Susi Susanti, who retired just before the Asiad in December 1998. Her retirement has dealt a big blow to Indonesian badminton and it is no longer the same force it once was. In the absence of any stiff opposition China is sure to walk away with the Uber Cup title for the seventh time.

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