Malaysia still in running, Korea into final four<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Host Malaysia saved face in earning another
\nchance to reach the semifinals by beating India 4-1 and South
\nKorea upset favorite Denmark 3-2 in the Thomas Cup at the Putra
\nIndoor Stadium here on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's first singles Wong Choong Hann got off to a shaky
\nstart in his debut as the opening singles against Pulella
\nGopichand.<\/p>\n
In the first game, both shuttlers played nervously and tied at
\n12-12. Gopichand took two points to lead 14-12 but Wong, relying
\non his experience from the Commonwealth Games, forced deuce and
\ntook the game 17-14.<\/p>\n
The second game was almost a repeat of the first except the
\nIndian showed his mettle to take it 17-14.<\/p>\n
In the decider, Gopichand, who recently recovered from a bout
\nof typhoid, was mentally and physically spent, losing 1-15.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's first doubles Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook
\nseemed to wilt under the high expectations of 5,000 home crowd
\nspectators, losing 7-15 in the first game to Markose Bristow and
\nVijaydeep Singh.<\/p>\n
They quickly recouped to win 15-2, 15-1 in the next games to
\nput the 1998 runner-up ahead 2-0.<\/p>\n
It was a tough tussle in the third match between Yong Hock Kin
\nand Nikhil Kanetkar but the inexperienced young Indian could not
\nrise to demands at critical points. Yong won 15-9, 17-14.<\/p>\n
The 1996 Olympic Games silver medalists Cheah Soon Kit and Yap
\nKim Hock were comfortable 15-6, 15-3 winners over George Thomas
\nand Jaseel Ismail<\/p>\n
India's only victory came when Roslin Hashim retired when
\ntrailing 10-15, 15-5, 4-8 to Sidharth Jain due to a right elbow
\ninjury.<\/p>\n
Experience<\/p>\n
Malaysia's team manager Mohamed Al Amin said he understood his
\nfirst singles and doubles players were tense because they were
\nnew to playing for their country in the sport's most prestigious
\nmen's team event.<\/p>\n
\"This is the first Thomas Cup for Choon Hann, Tan Fook and Wan
\nWah to play as the first singles and doubles for Malaysia in
\nMalaysia. The high demand from local spectators and the pressure
\nof winning influenced their performance.<\/p>\n
\"I believe our players don't feel happy about their
\nperformance. We will try to create a more conducive situation to
\nenable the players to gain more self-confidence for the next
\nmatch.\"<\/p>\n
In the night's upset tie, world number one Peter Gade
\nChristensen of Denmark easily defeated South Korean Shon Seung-mo
\n15-5, 15-10.<\/p>\n
The Korean pair of Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon fought hard
\nto overcome Martin Lundgaard Hansen and Lars Paaske 17-16, 15-5.<\/p>\n
The biggest upset was when Danish second singles Poul-Erik
\nHoyer-Larsen, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, lost in a thrilling
\nstruggle to Lee Hyun-il 15-13, 12-15, 12-15 in 67 minutes.<\/p>\n
Lee, who also defeated Ong Ewe Hock in an earlier tie with
\nMalaysia, forced the 34-year-old Dane into committing unforced
\nerrors with his neat net play.<\/p>\n
Another upset occurred when world number three pairing Lee
\nDong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung were humiliated by Jens Eriksen and
\nJesper Larsen 10-15, 1-15.<\/p>\n
In the decisive final match, Park Tae-sang sent Korea to the
\nsemifinals by defeating Kenneth Jonassen 15-7, 15-7.<\/p>\n
In the Uber Cup purple group, heavily favored China smoothed
\nits path to the semifinals with a 5-0 whitewashing of the
\nNetherlands.<\/p>\n
The only surprise of the tie was when Chinese first singles
\nDai Yun, number three in the world, lost a game to Judith
\nMeulendijks, ranked 17, before recovering to win 11-3, 7-11, 11-
\n7.<\/p>\n
Chinese head coach Li Yongbo expressed disappointment about
\nDai's form.<\/p>\n
\"It happened in every match, I wasn't really surprised.
\nHowever, it depends on each player's performance. But Dai
\nperformed her usual play.\"<\/p>\n
South Korea's women overwhelmed Sweden 5-0.<\/p>\n
Thomas Cup<\/p>\n
Denmark lost to South Korea 2-3: Peter Gade Christensen bt
\nShon Seung-mo 15-5, 15-10; Martin Lundgaard Hansen\/Lars Paaske
\nlost to Kim Dong-moon\/Ha Tae-kwon 16-17, 5-15; Poul-Erik
\nHoyer-Larsen lost to Lee Hyun-il 15-13, 12-15, 12-15; Jesper
\nLarsen\/Jens Eriksen bt Lee Dong-soo\/Yoo Yong-sung 15-10, 15-1;
\nKenneth Jonassen lost to Park Tae-sang 7-15, 7-15<\/p>\n
Malaysia vs India: Wong Choong Hann bt Pulella Gopichand
\n17-14, 14-17, 15-1; Lee Wan Wah\/Choong Tan Fook vs Bristow
\nMarkose\/Vijaydeep Singh Yong Hock Kin bt Nikhil Kanetkar 15-9,
\n17-14; Cheah Soon Kit\/Yap Kim Hock bt George Thomas\/Jaseel Ismail
\n15-6, 15-3; Roslin Hashim lost to Sidharth Jain 10-15, 15-5, 4-8
\n(retired)<\/p>\n
Uber Cup<\/p>\n
China bt Netherlands 5-0: Dai Yun bt Judith Meulendijks 11-3,
\n7-11, 11-7; Huang Nanyan\/Yang Wei bt Nicole van Hooren\/Lotte
\nJonathans 15-4, 15-2; Ye Zhaoying bt Karina de Wit 11-1, 11-0;
\nGao Ling\/Qin Yiyuan bt Carolien Glebbeek\/Betty Krab 15-0, 15-0;
\nGong Ruina bt Lonneke Janssen 11-6, 11-0<\/p>\n
South Korea bt Sweden 5-0: Kim Ji-hyun bt Margit Borg 6-11,
\n13-12, 11-7; Lee Kyung-won bt Karolina Ericsson 11-2, 11-7; Kim
\nKyeung-ran vs Johanna Holgersson 11-7, 11-0; Lee Hyo-jung\/Yim
\nKyung-jin bt Johanna Persson\/Anna Lundin 15-8, 15-9; Lee
\nKyung-won\/Chung Jae-hee bt Margit Borg\/Johanna Holgersson 15-5,
\n15-7<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-still-in-running-korea-into-final-four-1447893297",
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