Another easy win for<\/p>\n
Indonesian Thomas Cuppers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Favorite Indonesia strolled into the semifinals
\nof the Thomas Cup badminton championships with a clinical 5-0
\ndemolition of the gritty but overmatched Swedes at Senayan indoor
\nstadium last night.<\/p>\n
China also advanced to the semifinals both in the Thomas and
\nUber Cups following its convincing 5-0 victories over Finland in
\nthe men's and Japan in the women's team competitions.<\/p>\n
Uber Cup favorite South Korea also advanced with a 5-0
\ndrubbing of Russia, and will meet defending champ China in a
\nGroup A top-of-the-table match tomorrow. China has defeated South
\nKorea in each of the last three finals.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, spearheaded by world number one Susi Susanti, takes
\non Sweden today.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, out to reclaim the coveted Thomas Cup it has won a
\nrecord eight times, will complete its Group B matches tomorrow
\nwhen it tackles old nemesis China. Regardless of the results of
\ntheir matches against the Chinese, Joko Suprianto and company are
\nalready assured of a berth in the semifinals, scheduled for May
\n17-18.<\/p>\n
It was the second 5-0 win in as many matches for Indonesia,
\nwhich crushed Finland on the opening day of the 12-day
\nchampionships on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Yet, Sweden offered stiffer resistance against the mighty
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
World champion Joko showed the way by outplaying Jens Olsson,
\n15-7, 15-4.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's ace displayed a near-flawless performance that
\ndelighted some 4,000 home fans who passionately cheered their
\nfavorites.<\/p>\n
Joko<\/p>\n
The fleet-footed Joko dominated play from the outset with his
\npinpoint dropshots, deceptive chops and sharp cross-court
\nsmashes, reducing the Swede to retrieving shots most of the time.<\/p>\n
However there were stretches when Olsson did manage to outplay
\nthe world champion, but those were few and far between, much to
\nthe dismay of the 40-odd Swedish fans who turned up to cheer
\ntheir side.<\/p>\n
Joko wrapped up the match in 45 minutes to give Indonesia the
\nexpected 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n
Indonesia went two up when the reigning All-England doubles
\nchampions, Rudy Gunawan and Bambang Suprianto, smashed their way
\nto a 15-10, 15-4 victory over Jan-Erik Antonsson and Mikael
\nRoser.<\/p>\n
Antonsson and Roser put up a fighting performance and played
\nwith lots of grit, but Gunawan and Bambang were just too fast and
\ntoo crafty for the Swedish players to match.<\/p>\n
Ardy Wiranata gave Indonesia an insurmountable 3-0 lead when
\nhe dispatched Thomas Johansson 15-9, 15-9 in the second singles.<\/p>\n
Ardy, the 1991 All-England champion, recovered from a rather
\nshaky start to outclass the Swede in the one-sided half-hour
\nmatch.<\/p>\n
Though the tie was already decided, the Indonesian doubles
\npair of Ricky Subagya and Rexy Mainaky were all business against
\nRickard Magnusson and P.G. Jonsson, whom they easily whipped in
\ndouble quick time, 15-0, 15-3.<\/p>\n
The star-studded Indonesian side completed the whitewash when
\nHermawan Sutanto was stretched in a 15-4, 13-15, 15-2 victory
\nover Patrik Andrensson in the last match.<\/p>\n
It was Sweden's second successive defeat, having lost 4-1 to
\nChina on Wednesday. (bas\/amd)<\/p>\n
Today's matches<\/p>\n
Thomas Cup (all matches begin at 7.30 p.m.)
\n Denmark v South Korea; Malaysia v Thailand<\/p>\n
Uber Cup
\n Indonesia v Sweden; Denmark v Thailand.<\/p>",
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