Indonesia puts it across China

By Prakash Padukone

KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 16. Badminton of the highest order was dished out by world giants at Stadium Putra where the final rounds of the Thomas/Uber Cup are currently being played. On the last day of the group matches at Kuala Lumpur, defending champion and top seed Indonesia put it across arch rival China by a 3-0 margin.

Thus Indonesia emerged as leaders from Group A, and has now qualified for the semifinals as the top team from the group. China is also in with a chance to have a go at the title having also qualified for the knock-out stage behind Indonesia as the second team from the group.

Korea topped Group B by scoring a facile 4-1 victory over India in its last group match to remain undefeated at the league stage. This is the first time that Korea has qualified for the knock-out stage as group winner. It plays China in the semifinals which will now be played on a knock-out basis. Indonesia takes on Denmark in the other semifinals. The first semifinal, to be decided by lot, will be played on Thursday evening while the second will be played the next evening. Uber Cup semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday evening.

Reigning Indian National champion P. Gopichand gave another stellar performance when he outshone the top Korean singles player Shon Seung Mo in two games to give India a 1-0 lead. Gopi was in excellent form once again and did not allow the Korean to play his usual attacking game. This strategy upset the rhythm of the Korean and forced him to be on the defensive throughout the match. Gopi controlled the entire proceedings and was always on top. The Korean was never allowed to get into the match at any point of time and Gopi sailed through conceeding seven points apiece in the two games.

The Indians had to make a change in the doubles line- up due to the injury sustained by Vijaydeep Singh in the previous encounter. Markose Bristow partnered Jaseel Ismail in the first doubles but they could not make much of an impact against the strong Korean combination of Lee Dong Soo & Yoo Yong Sung. They lost the first game without scoring a point but fared better in the next by scoring 8 points. The match however lasted only 19 minutes.

The giant killing spree of Lee Hyun Li continued when he overcame India No. 2 Nikhil Kanetkar in 40 minutes at 15-12, 15-5. Lee has been the find of the tournament for Korea and he has mainly been instrumental in Korea making it to the next stage after a fairly long gap. Lee did not find Nikhil as tough an opponent as his two earlier rivals, Ong Ewe Hock of Malaysia and Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark. Nevertheless Lee did not relax and disposed off Nikhil convincingly. Nikhil had lost to the same player in New Delhi in the Asian zone preliminaries in February this year.

The scratch combination of Chetan Anand and Sachin Ratti were no match for the formidable Korean pair of Ahn Jae Chang & Kim Dong Moon in the second doubles. The Koreans had no difficulty in beating the Indians 15-2, 15-8, the match lasting 27 minutes.

Siddharth Jain could not sustain the form he displayed in his earlier two matches and lost to Park Tae Sang in straight games. The Indian led 12-9 in the first game but could not capitalise on the lead.

Disoriented Malaysia eliminated

The biggest disappointment of the day was the defeat of host Malaysia at the hands of Denmark. This reverse sealed the fate of the Malaysians who were hoping to repeat their 1992 triumph on home soil and made their exit from the new Millennium's first Thomas Cup campaign. The entire nation was expecting a good performance from the Malaysians, but they flattered to deceive. The team never looked like winning the cup from the beginning and looked disjointed and disoriented. No wonder it paid the penalty.

Peter Gade gave Denmark a flying start by beating Wong Choong Hann 15-7, 15-6 in 40 minutes. Both players started cautiously but once Gade settled down, there was no stopping him. From 6-6, the Dane raced to 15-7 to take the first game. It was no different in the second game as the world No. 1 continued to play at a fast pace. Peter Gade took the first four points before Wong levelled. From that point, the Dane cruised to a 14-5 lead before wrapping up the game and match at 15-6.

Malaysia restored parity in the first doubles when Lee and Choong overcame Hansen and Paaske 15-12, 15-10 in 52 minutes. The Commonwealth Games gold medallists from Malaysia began shakily and were trailing 0-6 and 1-7 at one stage. But they regained their confidence as the match progressed and won in straight games to the delight of the packed stadium. The Malaysian gamble of bringing back Ong Ewe Hock in place of Hock Kin for the second singles backfired when Ong lost in two close games to Olympic champion Hoyer-Larsen. Ong was preferred to Hock Kin as he had a better record against Larsen.

But today, Larsen was in smashing form and his win provided the launching pad for the Danes.

The crucial victory for Denmark came in the second doubles when Jesper Larsen and Jens Ericsen overpowered the veteran Malaysian pair of Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock in three games.

Experience scores over youth

Holder Indonesia scored a creditable 4-1 victory over China in another tie. China did not field the reigning All-England champion Xia Xuanze and instead promoted Ji Xin Peng to play the opening singles against Hendrawan. But experience prevailed over youth when Hendrawan easily accounted for Ji Xin Peng 15-7, 15- 12. The world's top doubles pair, Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan, lived up to its ranking by scoring a straight-game victory over Yu and Chen in the first doubles to widen Indonesia's lead to 2- 0.

Indonesian youngster Taufik Hidayat had to perform at his best to overcome Luo Yigang in three games and Hidayat's win helped Indonesia wrap up the tie.

In an inconsequential doubles tie, Ricky and Rexy went down to Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun without exerting much. However, Marleve Mainaky made it 4-1 when he defeated Chen Hong 15-12, 15- 3.

The semifinals of the Thomas Cup scheduled for Thursday and Friday promise to be a keen affair. However, much of the excitement has been taken away with the exit of the Malaysians.

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