Indonesia beats China, meets Denmark in semis<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Defending champion Indonesia cruised into
\nthe final four after surprisingly overcoming favorite China 4-1
\nin the last round-robin yellow group of the Thomas Cup
\nchampionships at Putra Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
On the next court, host and runner-up Malaysia battled in a
\ndo-or-die match against another favorite, Denmark, before finally
\nbowing out 4-1.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will face Denmark in the semifinals on Friday while
\non Thursday China is to take on South Korea, which defeated India
\n4-1 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Playing as the first singles, Indonesia's Hendrawan managed to
\novercome the pressure before nearly 12,000 spectators, including
\n1,500 Indonesians, to beat Ji Xinpeng 15-7, 15-12.<\/p>\n
Playing with neat netting combined with excellent drop shots
\nand leaping smashes, Hendrawan, number two in the world, forced
\nJi to commit unforced errors. Ji's offensive drop shots failed to
\ngo through the Indonesian's solid defense.<\/p>\n
Doubles Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan had to fight extra hard
\nto overcome Yu Jinhao and Chen Qiqiu 15-10, 15-11. Despite their
\nvictory, Candra and Tony still made unforced errors, especially
\nin the first game. In the second game, Tony's outstanding
\nperformance managed to help Candra find his rhythm before
\nconcluding the match.<\/p>\n
Second singles Taufik Hidayat, accompanied by his parents and
\nformer coach Iie Sumirat, played well in the first game to win
\n15-10. But in the second game, he got off to a shaky start to be
\ndowned 6-12 and unable to grab more points as Lou took the game
\n15-6.<\/p>\n
In the decider, Taufik led 11-4 before his nerves got the
\nbetter of him to allow Lou to narrow the margin to 10-11. But the
\n19-year-old world number five was able to control his emotions to
\nplay more tactically to grab the remaining four points to win 15-
\n10.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, 1996 Olympic Games gold medalists Ricky Subagja
\nand Rexy Mainaky failed to contest Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun and
\nbowed out at 8-15, 6-15.<\/p>\n
In the last singles match, Marlev Mainaky, runner-up of the
\n1999 Grand Prix Finals, defeated Chen Hong 15-12, 15-3.<\/p>\n
Indonesian deputy team manager Hadi Nazri admitted that China
\ndid not field its full team against Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"If they were serious about winning, they would have fielded
\ntheir best players. If we look at the IBF (International
\nBadminton Federation) ranking, we can see that China has young,
\ngood players but we have a combination of experienced and young
\nshuttlers.\"<\/p>\n
Hadi observed Taufik's poor form in the second game.<\/p>\n
\"I see Taufik played differently today compared to his
\nprevious performance. I don't think we can judge Taufik's
\nperformance as that good today,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dane Peter Gade Christensen contributed the first point to his
\ncountry, performing excellently in a tough match against Wong
\nChoong Hann, who seemed to be very nervous in the match, to
\nconclude 15-7, 15-6.<\/p>\n
But Malaysian number one duo of Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan
\nFook, cheered on by the full-house, managed to tie 1-1 after
\ndefeating Martin Lundgaard Hansen and Lars Paaske 15-12, 15-10 in
\na very tough match.<\/p>\n
Denmark earned a second point with 1996 Olympic Games champion
\nPoul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen who survived the crowd's jeering to win
\n17-14, 15-12 against home \"bad boy\" Ong Ewe Hock.<\/p>\n
Danish second doubles Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen came out
\nthe heroes for their country as they finally overcame 1996
\nOlympics silver medalists Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock 15-8,
\n8-15, 15-5.<\/p>\n
Results<\/p>\n
Indonesia bt China 4-1: Hendrawan bt Ji Xinpeng 15-7 15-12,
\nCandra Wijaya\/Tony Gunawan bt Yu Jinhao\/Chen Qiqiu 15-10 15-11,
\nTaufik Hidayat bt Lou Yigang 15-10 6-15 15-10, Ricky Subagja\/Rexy
\nMainaky lost to Zhang Wei\/Zhang Jun 8-15 6-15, Marlev Mainaky bt
\nChen Hong 15-12 15-3<\/p>\n
England bt Sweden 4-1: Colin Haughton lost to Thomas Johansson
\n13-15 11-15, Darren Hall bt Rasmus Wengberg 14-17 15-12 15-12,
\nNathan Robertson\/Simon Archer bt Par-Gunnar Jonsson\/Peter Axelsson
\n15-9 15-6, Mark Constable bt Martin Hagberg 15-9 15-12, Anthony
\nClark\/Ian Sullivan bt Rasmus Wengberg\/Frederik Bergstrom 15-8 15-7<\/p>\n
Denmark bt Malaysia 4-1: Peter Gade Christensen bt Wong Choong
\nHann 15-7 15-6, Martin Lundgaard Hansen\/Lars Paaske lost to Lee Wan
\nWah\/Choong Tan Fook 12-15 10-15, Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen bt Ong Ewe
\nHock 17-14 15-12, Jens Eriksen\/Jesper Larsen bt Cheah Soon Kit\/Yap
\nKim Hock 15-8 8-15 15-5, Kenneth Jonassen bt Yong Hock Kin
\n15-6 14-17 15-1<\/p>\n
South Korea bt India 4-1: Shon Seung-mo lost to Pulella
\nGopichand 7-15 7-15, Lee Dong-soo\/Yoo Yong-sung bt Markose
\nBristow\/Jaseel Ismail 15-0 15-8, Lee Hyun-il bt Nikhil Kanetkar
\n15-12 15-5, Ahn Jae-chang\/Kim Dong-moon bt Anand Chetan\/Sachin
\nRatti 15-2 15-8, Park Tae-sang bt Sidharth Jain 15-12 15-11<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-beats-china-meets-denmark-in-semis-1447893297",
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