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