RI loses to Danes for 1st time in Uber Cup<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): As feared, Indonesia's Uber Cup team lost
\n1-4 to Denmark on Saturday in the pink group round-robin of the
\nUber Cup team championships, its first loss to the Danes in the
\nevent's history.<\/p>\n
First singles Lidya Djaelawidjaja entered the record books as
\nbeing on the receiving end of the fastest Uber Cup defeat when
\nshe bowed out to Camilla Martin 3-11, 2-11 in only 15 minutes at
\nthe Putra Indoor Stadium here.<\/p>\n
Lidya looked unsure of her own performance from the very
\nbeginning, seemingly short on concentration and motivation. She
\nmade many unforced errors and failed to repeat her excellent
\nperformance in the Indonesia Open last year when she defeated
\nMartin. Their match history now stands at 5-1 in the Dane's
\nfavor.<\/p>\n
Doubles Elysa Nathanael and Deyana Lomban, who were expected
\nto beat Rikke Olsen and Helene Kirkegaard, failed to accomplish
\ntheir mission, losing 15-12, 10-15, 6-15 in 65 minutes.<\/p>\n
Deyana had to move all over the court covering gaps, in
\nbetween performing some fine leaping smashes and playing solid
\ndefense. However, Elysa was unable to equal her partner's form.
\nIndeed, she has had trouble doing so since injuring her right leg
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
They failed to cover for each other smoothly on the court and
\ngave away too many soft points, leaving the advantage to the
\nworld number five pair.<\/p>\n
The fielding of the duo, which was predicted to tie 1-1, may
\nnot have happened should women's doubles coach Imelda Wigoeno
\nhave fielded Etty Tantri and Cynthia Tuwankota as was speculated
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
Ellen Angelina sealed Indonesia's losing fate. She got off to
\na shaky start in the first game, losing 4-11. In the second game,
\nshe was down 3-7 before managing to tie 7-7. But Sorensen was
\nable to win two more points before the Indonesian again forced
\nthe game to another tie, 9-9. But her hard work was too late as
\nSorensen ensured Denmark's 3-0 victory by winning the match 11-9.<\/p>\n
Old hands Minarti Timur and Zelin Resiana, both mixed doubles
\nspecialists, closed the gap to 1-3, with a victory over Vange and
\nPernille Harder 15-10, 7-15, 15-5.<\/p>\n
In the final match Niniek Masrikah lost to Mette Pedersen 11-
\n8, 4-11, 1-11.<\/p>\n
Coach Imelda Wigoeno told a postmatch media conference the
\nteam must beat Malaysia if it wanted to earn a semifinal berth.<\/p>\n
\"We had been predicted to lose against Denmark. But we had
\nhoped Ellen, the key player, could steal one point from Mette
\nSorensen. Unfortunately she was very nervous and made unforced
\nerrors, especially in the first game.\"<\/p>\n
Imelda said she decided not to field Etty Tantri and Cynthia
\nTuwankotta due to their bad performances in the Uber Cup
\nqualifying round in New Delhi.<\/p>\n
Japan had to struggle before eliminating host Malaysia 3-2 in
\na very tough match before 2,000 spectators.<\/p>\n
Whitewash<\/p>\n
On another court, Indonesia's Thomas Cup team whitewashed
\nEngland 5-0, securing a place in the semifinals.<\/p>\n
First singles Hendrawan got off to a shaky start before
\nbeating Colin Haughton 15-8, 15-12. Playing unlike his usual
\nself, Hendrawan made unforced errors specially when smashing.<\/p>\n
Doubles Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan survived their first
\ntest by defeating Simon Archer and Nathan Robertson 15-12, 15-5
\nin 49 minutes. Candra and Tony seemed very nervous in the opening
\ngame.<\/p>\n
But the world number one pair was no contest for the English
\nduo. Regrettably, the four shuttlers quarreled on court for
\nnearly five minutes.<\/p>\n
Taufik Hidayat had a comfortably win over Mark Constable, 15-
\n6, 15-5 in 34 minutes, ensuring a 3-0 lead for the country. While
\nthe new partnership of Sigit Budiarto and Antonius Budi Ariantho
\ncontributed another point after beating Anthony Clark and Ian
\nSullivan 15-6, 15-9. Third singles Marlev Mainaky barely sweated
\nto overcome Michael Edge 15-3, 15-5.<\/p>\n
On different court, another favorite China claimed its second
\nvictory against Sweden winning all matches 5-0.<\/p>\n
Results<\/p>\n
Thomas Cup
\nIndonesia bt England 5-0
\nHendrawan bt Colin Haughton 15-8, 15-12, Candra Wijaya\/Tony
\nGunawan bt Nathan Robertson\/Simon Archer 15-12, 15-5, Taufik
\nHidayat bt Mark Constable 15-6, 15-5, Antonius Budi
\nAriantho\/Sigit Budiarto bt Anthony Clark\/Ian Sullivan 15-6, 15-9,
\nMarlev Mainaky bt Michael Edge 15-3, 15-5
\nChina bt Sweden 5-0
\nXia Xuanze bt Thomas Johansson 15-4, 15-10, Zhang Jun\/Yu Jinhao
\nbt Par-Gunnar Jonsson\/Peter Axelsson 15-7, 15-4, Ji Xinpeng bt
\nRasmus Wengberg 15-9, 15-9, Zhang Wei\/Liu Yong bt Henrik
\nAndersson\/Frederik Bergstrom 15-4, 15-4, Chen Hong bt Martin
\nHagberg 15-10, 15-12<\/p>\n
Uber Cup<\/p>\n
Denmark bt Indonesia 4-1<\/p>\n
Camilla Martin bt Lidya Djaelawidjaja 11-3, 11-2, Helene
\nKirkegaard\/Rikke Olsen bt Elysa Nathanael\/Deyana Lomban 12-15,
\n15-10, 15-6, Mette Sorensen bt Ellen Angelina 11-4, 11-9,
\nMajken Vange\/Pernille Harder lost to Minarti Timur\/Zelin Resiana
\n10-15, 15-7, 5-15, Mette Pedersen bt Niniek Masrikah 8-11, 11-4,
\n11-1<\/p>\n
Japan bt Malaysia 3-2<\/p>\n
Yasuko Mizui bt Ng Mee Fen 11-6, 11-1, Yoshiko Iwata\/Haruko
\nMatsuda lost to Lim Pek Siah\/Joanna SL Quay 13-15, 11-15,
\nTakako Ida bt Wong Miew Kheng 11-5, 11-0, Chikako Nakayama\/Naomi
\nMurakami lost to Ang Li Peng\/Chor Hooi Yee 15-10, 11-15, 15-17,
\nMiho Tanaka bt Woon Sze Mei 13-10, 11-4<\/p>",
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