China beats Indonesia to meet Denmark in Uber Cup final

China beats Indonesia to meet Denmark in Uber Cup final

By Primastuti Handayani

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Indonesia found the going too tough against
the heavily favored Chinese team in the Uber Cup badminton event,
losing 0-3 in the semifinal at Putra Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

Defending champion China, aiming to claim the sport's most
prestigious women's team event for the seventh time, faces
Denmark on Saturday. The Danes trounced South Korea in the last
four.

Indonesia fielded Ellen Angelina in the first singles, based
on her fine form in earlier round-robin matches.

Lidya Djaelawidjaja, who was shaky in opening encounters, sat
on the bench and watched Ellen tackle world number two Gong
Zhichao.

Gong's excellence in long rallies and deft dropshots proved
too much for the Indonesian as she bowed out 2-11, 1-11.

Doubles Elysa Nathanael and Deyana Lomban put up a brave fight
against Ge Fei and Gu Jun, who have been undefeated in major
events in the past five years and are dubbed the Chinese "Great
Wall" for their solid defense.

The Indonesians lost 9-15, 7-15. Deyana, known for her leaping
smashes, failed to find her form and committed a slew of unforced
errors.

In the second singles, tiny Yuli Marfuah was tamed by Dai Yun
6-11, 4-11.

The remaining two of the best-of-five match tie were not
played under a new rule made by the International Badminton
Federation last week.

The defeat cast a pall over the Indonesian camp, and only
about 100 spectators turned up to watch the semifinals in the
15,000-capacity venue.

No Indonesian official, including Badminton Association of
Indonesia (PBSI) chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, attended the
postmatch news conference.

Denmark had cause to celebrate on Wednesday when it reached
the final for the first time in 40 years. It last played in the
final in 1960 in Ireland.

Camilla Martin enjoyed a comfortable 11-5, 11-7 victory over
Kim Ji-hyun in 21 minutes but Mette Sorensen was forced to fight
hard and took 30 minutes to tame Lee Kyung-won 11-8, 11-3.

The decisive victory was presented by the team's top pair of
Helene Kirkegaard and Rikke Olsen, who needed 30 minutes to
dispense of Lee Hyo-jung and Chung Jae-hee 15-5, 15-6.

Denmark's head coach Kenneth Larsen said: "Before we started
the match, we felt that we had a chance to win. But we should win
the early matches to do that.

"I'm very proud of the way they played. They did
extraordinarily well. They have supported each other in the team
in a very conducive situation."

South Korea's coach Kim Jong-soo was clearly dissatisfied with
his off-form shuttlers.

"We had no chances to win without Ra Kyung-min, who had to be
rested for one month because of a hamstring injury. If Ra had
played in the single and double numbers, we could have earned two
points from her," Kim said.

"Kim Ji-hyun was not in a good condition since her first match
against the Netherlands in the round-robin match."

Results

China bt Indonesia 3-0: Gong Zhichao bt Ellen Angelina 11-2,
11-1; Ge Fei/Gu Jun bt Elysa Nathanael/Deyana Lomban 15-9, 15-7;
Dai Yun bt Yuli Marfuah 11-6, 11-4; Gao Ling/Qin Yiyuan vs Etty
Tantri/Cynthia Tuwankotta -- not played; Ye Zhaoying vs Niniek
Masrikah -- not played

Denmark bt South Korea 3-0: Camilla Martin bt Kim Ji-hyun
11-5, 11-7; Mette Sorensen bt Lee Kyung-won 11-8, 11-3; Helen
Kirkegaard/Rikke Olsen bt Lee Hyo-jung/Chung Jae-hee 15-5, 15-6;
Mette Pedersen vs Kim Kyeung-ra -- not played; Camilla Martin/Mette
Schjoldajer vs Lee Kyung-won/Yim Kyung-jin -- not played