Indonesia beats S. Korea to reach Thomas Cup final<\/p>\n
By Arif Suryobuwono<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (JP): Bold and cold Joko Suprianto shrugged off an
\nage disadvantage to outwit Park Sung-woo, ushering in Indonesia's
\n3-2 edging of South Korea in a delayed Thomas Cup semifinal
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old Indonesian stealthily overcame his 9-13
\ndeficit in the first set with clever half-court chops to beat the
\n24-year-old Korean 18-17, 15-1 in a tiring match.<\/p>\n
The semifinal was delayed for 30 minutes due to a bomb scare
\nat the Queen Elizabeth stadium, the venue of the Thomas Cup and
\nUber Cup finals. It turned out to be a hoax.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong Badminton Association vice president Soo Ka Ching
\nannounced they found a plastic bag with a note inside reading
\n"Don't touch, dangerous!". The bang was hung on a cistern in one
\nof the men's toilets.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's more frightening partnership of Ricky Subagja and
\nRexy Mainaky rolled over South Korea's doubles pair of Ha Tae-
\nkwon and Kang Kyung-jin like an avalanche. The pair disposed of
\ntheir opponents 15-10, 15-7 in 40 minutes to give Indonesia a 2-0
\nlead.<\/p>\n
Indonesia rested world champion Hariyanto Arbi and let Olympic
\ngold medalist Alan Budikusuma finish the job. Alan sealed South
\nKorea's fate with a comfortable 15-6, 15-9 win over Lee Kwan-jin,
\nearning Indonesia an unassailable 3-0 lead.<\/p>\n
The Indonesians fell apart in the remaining two games.
\nIndonesia's second doubles of Deny Kantono and Antonius fell to
\nPark Joo-bong and Kim Dong-moon 0-15, 5-15, while Ardy Wiranata
\nlost to Ahn Jae-chang 8-15, 3-15.<\/p>\n
Jumping smashes<\/p>\n
Defending champion Indonesia will play Denmark tomorrow for
\nthe coveted Thomas Cup. It will be the second finals meeting
\nbetween the teams in 17 years. Indonesia routed Denmark 9-0 in
\nthe 1979 final.<\/p>\n
World number one Joko kept lowering the birdie to keep Park
\nretrieving, before finishing the South Korean with jumping
\nsmashes.<\/p>\n
Joko varied this attack with net rallies, an open wound for
\nPark.<\/p>\n
"That way he found most of his answers in the net," said Joko,
\nwhose fluctuating world number one position will now find firm
\nanchorage.<\/p>\n
Joko's coach, Triadji, referred to Joko's second set as the
\nreal Joko. "That was Joko at his best. He cleverly managed his
\ntempo to allow recovery. Park, on the other hand, clearly lost
\nsteam and fitness. He looked like he was walking in the mud,
\nheavily answering Joko's chops."<\/p>\n
Alan, who also decided Indonesia's win over China in their
\ngroup match last Friday, said he never thought he could beat Lee
\nthat easily.<\/p>\n
"Lee is very persistent. In the second set I began to feel
\ntired and this made it easier for him to score points." Alan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's team manager Lutfi Hamid said Indonesia was lucky
\nall its players performed extraordinarily well today. He added
\nthat the key to his team's victory lay in Alan. "Our decision to
\nfield Alan instead of Hariyanto paid off," Lutfi said. He refused
\nto explain why, only offering that it was a "new" Alan he was
\nreferring to.<\/p>\n
Lutfi, however, was dissatisfied with how the Danes were
\nranked. "If doubles specialist Thomas Lund failed to come due to
\ninjury, his partner Jon Holst Christensen cannot remain as the
\nfirst-string doubles. But the referees ruled out our complaints."<\/p>\n
Lutfi was also unhappy with the doping tests which, according
\nto him were not administered randomly. "Every Indonesian player
\nwho wins is subjected to a dope test. When I asked the referee
\nhow many Danish players are tested, his answer was 'I can't tell
\nyou.'"<\/p>\n
South Korea's doubles specialist Park Joo-bong, who acted as a
\nspokesman for his team, said the Indonesian doubles team was
\nactually very strong.<\/p>\n
"Yes, we lost, but at least we performed well."<\/p>\n
Denmark -- Page 12<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-beats-s-korea-to-reach-thomas-cup-final-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }