Malaysia labors to beat S. Korea 3-2 in Thomas Cup<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The second string doubles pair of Tan Kim Her
\nand Yap Kim Hock played a pivotal role in Thomas Cup holder
\nMalaysia's 3-2 win over South Korea in their Group B match at
\nSenayan indoor stadium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
While Malaysia faced stiff opposition before carving out that
\nwin, Denmark strolled to an emphatic 5-0 victory over Thailand in
\nWednesday's other Thomas Cup tie.<\/p>\n
Denmark benched its third singles player Peter Espersen,
\nfielding Soren Nielsen instead. The Danes also jumbled their
\ndoubles pair, fielding the unlikely combination of Thomas Lund
\nand Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen.<\/p>\n
Despite that, the Danes still had too much firepower for the
\ngritty but outclassed Thais.<\/p>\n
Malaysia also sprang a surprise by fielding the up-and-coming
\npair of Yap Kim Hock and Tan Kim Her at second doubles in place
\nof the aging Razif and Jalani Sidek. But Yap and Kim did not let
\nthe Malaysian camp down.<\/p>\n
Tan and Yap, runners-up in the recent Asian championships,
\nupset South Korea's Yoo Yong-soon and Kim Dong-moon 15-8, 15-12
\nto give their squad an insurmountable 3-1 lead.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian players fought tooth and nail despite a hostile
\ncrowd of 4,000 that delighted in booing them at every
\nopportunity.<\/p>\n
Kim dominated for most of the first set to open up a 13-9 lead
\nand appeared poised to clinch the set. But Rashid, the hero of
\nMalaysia's 1992 Thomas Cup triumph, clawed his way back to take
\nthe first set 18-13 and found little resistance in the second,
\nwinning it 15-8. It was Rashid's fifth win over Kim in as many
\nencounters.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian number one doubles pair of Cheah Soon Keat and
\nSoo Beng Kiang breezed past Lee Kwang-jin and Lee Suk-ho 15-3,
\n15-1. But Malaysia's second singles player Ong Ewe Hock fell in
\nan upset 16-18, 15-6, 16-18 to wily Park Sung-woo.<\/p>\n
In a match which was of academic interest, South Korea's Lee
\nKwang Jin came from behind to beat Asian champion Foo Kok Keong
\n12-15, 15-4, 15-5.<\/p>\n
Jon Holst-Christensen formed a solid partnership with Michael
\nSoegaard to give Denmark an unbeatable 3-0 lead after their 15-9,
\n15-12 win over Siripong Siripol and Khunakorn Sudhisodhi.<\/p>\n
Thomas Lund also teamed up well with Stuer-Lauridsen as the
\nmakeshift Danish pair downed Promote Teerawiwatana and Sakrapee
\nThongsari 15-10, 15-12.<\/p>\n
Uber Cup<\/p>\n
In the Uber Cup, world badminton queen Susi Susanti
\nspearheaded the Indonesian women as they began their drive for
\nthe title with a 5-0 rout of minnow Thailand.<\/p>\n
Displaying an unusually aggressive style, Susi, who has won
\nevery major world singles title, needed less than 20 minutes to
\ndisposed of Somharuethai Jaroensiri 11-2, 11-3.<\/p>\n
Sweden came from behind for a 3-2 win over Denmark when Danish
\nsingles ace Camille Martin was upset by Chinese-born Lim Xiao
\nQing in a three-set thriller 11-8, 5-11, 11-12.<\/p>\n
The clash between the two Scandinavian countries saw four
\nmatches end in three sets. The Swedish number one pair of Maria
\nBengtsson and Catrine Bengtsson contributed a point to their team
\nby nipping Anne Bille and Marlene Thompson, 15-9, 10-15, 17-16.
\n(amd)<\/p>\n
Wednesday's results:<\/p>\n
Thomas Cup
\n Malaysia 3 Korea 2
\n Denmark 5 Thailand 0<\/p>\n
Uber Cup
\n Indonesia 5 Thailand 0
\n Sweden 3 Denmark 2<\/p>",
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