JAKARTA, 13 May 2004 — Defending champions Indonesia revived their flagging Thomas Cup badminton hopes with a spirited 3-1 reverse of archrivals Malaysia in front of a packed Senayan Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Top Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro overcame a nervous start to triumph in three games over world number three Wong Choon Hann, but the deafening cheers turned to boos when doubles pair Luluk Hadiyanto and Alven Yulianto were dismissed 15-12, 15-6 by Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fuk.
Young maestro Taufik Hidayat — reported to the police this week after an apparent road-rage incident — fed from an ecstatic reception to dominate M. Roslin Hashim 15-10, 15-2.
The quarterfinal was settled by edgy doubles duo Flandy Limpele and Hian Eng, who needed three games to put away Koo Kien Keat and Chew Choon Eng.
Indonesia will now face Denmark, who beat Germany 3-1, in tomorrow’s semifinal for a chance to retain the trophy they have held since 1994. “We played well today but we are still expecting more improvement,” said team manager Christian Hadinata.
“But we are still hoping that the players can give their best in the next game.”
However, their chances of a fifth consecutive title look slim with China, who drubbed them 5-0 on Monday, in awesome touch during their 3-0 demolition of Japan.China will face South Korea today after the Koreans’ 3-1 victory over Thailand.
Earlier Indonesia’s women were bundled out of the concurrent Uber Cup after a 3-1 loss to second-seeded South Korea.
China, also top seeds in the women’s event, cruised into the semis with a crushing win over Malaysia, meaning both Malaysian teams were ousted on the same day.
The Chinese dispensed with the services of world No. 1 Gong Ruina for the lopsided quarterfinal, but Zhang Ning and Zhou Mi — ranked second and third - and number two doubles pairing Gao Ling and Huang Sui had little trouble dispatching the 11th seeds in straight games.
Meanwhile Denmark and Japan were both taken to the wire, by the Netherlands and Taiwan respectively, before triumphing 3-2 in the other Uber Cup quarterfinals. Japan’s women will meet China and Denmark are up against South Korea in today’s semis.
