Danish misfortune may be RI's lucky break<\/p>\n
Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Although he got the semifinal matchup that he wanted against
\nDenmark, Indonesia's Sudirman Cup team captain Christian Hadinata
\nrefused on Friday to talk up his players' chances.<\/p>\n
Before leaving for Beijing for the mixed team championship,
\nChristian had said he would prefer to meet the Danes because the
\nhis women's players would have a better chance of winning their
\nmatches.<\/p>\n
Denmark, bidding to become the first European country to win
\nthe cup, overcame defending champions South Korea 3-2 in the
\nfinal group A match on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, with several of its top players given a day off
\nbefore Saturday's semifinals, lost 0-5 to the hosts in group B.<\/p>\n
With Indonesia's players expected to be evenly matched with
\nthe Danes in the men's singles -- including the tempting
\npossibility of a Taufik Hidayat-Peter Gade duel -- men's doubles
\nand mixed doubles, much will hinge on the outcome of the women's
\nsingles and women's doubles.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's women's chances received a boost on Thursday
\nthanks to Danish misfortune. Tine Rasmussen, the number one
\nDanish women's singles player and world ranked 11, fell over and
\nsuffered Achilles damage in her match against Korea's Seon Yoon
\nhee.<\/p>\n
Christian was guarded when asked to make a prediction on
\nFriday, saying Europe's strongest team cannot be considered a
\npushover even without Rasmussen, who is expected to take several
\nmonths to recover.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that Denmark beat Korea is outstanding, especially
\nthat their men's doubles pair (Lars Paaske\/Jonas Rasmussen) could
\ndefeat the Olympic champions (Kim Dong Moon and Ha Tae Kwon),\"
\nChristian said by phone from Beijing.<\/p>\n
\"They will be tough opponents. It's still 50-50.\"<\/p>\n
Denmark will field rookie Camilla Sorensen, who is ranked 70th
\nin the world, higher than Indonesia's second singles player
\nFransisca Ratnasari Haris (86) but below 51st-ranked Adrianti
\nFirdasari.<\/p>\n
Although Sorensen, 19, is a year older than the two
\nIndonesians, she has mostly played small European tournaments.<\/p>\n
\"We have no choice but to play her,\" Danish coach Steen
\nPedersen told The Associated Press. \"It will be a tough debut for
\nher but she will have to learn from it.\"<\/p>\n
Christian said Sorensen, despite her inexperience in major
\nmatchplay, might still present a problem for his players. \"For
\nthe European players, the experience is generally about the same,
\nthey're technically good and have self-confidence.\"<\/p>\n
A decision on the Indonesian team lineup will be made on
\nSaturday following consultation with other coaches.<\/p>\n
Heavily favored China will be looking to avenge its defeat to
\nthe Koreans in the final in Eindhoven two years ago when they
\nplay in the evening match on Saturday.<\/p>\n
China's head coach Li Yongbo said he was confident his team
\ncould continue to produce the goods following 5-0 sweeps of
\nround-robin group stage.<\/p>\n
\"I hope to win all the matches comfortably but we should be
\nready for future tough matches in which we may lose games first,\"
\nhe was reported as saying by AP.<\/p>\n
\"I will ask my players to make sure that they are mentally
\nprepared to fight back from a losing position. I cannot envisage
\nus winning with a 5-0 scoreline like before.\"<\/p>",
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