Danes wary of Indonesia's young squad

Danes wary of Indonesia's young squad

JAKARTA (JP): European champion Denmark believes Thomas Cup
holder Indonesia is relying on young and less experienced players
but it does not plan to let down its guard.

Denmark team manager Thomas Lund said during a practice
session at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong yesterday
that he would not ignore Indonesia's strength despite the fact it
would field a weaker side than its triumphant team in 1996.

"Indonesia now may not be as powerful as it was two years ago,
but they are unpredictable. Those young players must be able to
make amends for their lack of skill with extra fighting spirit.
This is very dangerous, I think," Thomas Cup veteran Lund said as
quoted by Antara.

Dane coach Hendrik Lyngby shared his colleague's view, rating
Indonesia a red-hot favorite to win the Thomas Cup men's
badminton team championship along with China and Denmark.

Indonesia has only four veterans -- former world champions
Hariyanto Arbi and Joko Suprianto and Olympic men's doubles gold
medalists Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky -- in its 10-man Thomas
Cup team.

The International Badminton Federation caused a few surprises
Tuesday when it announced Indonesia's make-shift pair of Chandra
Wijaya and reserve Tony Gunawan as the world number one doubles
team.

Chandra used to partner with Sigit Budiarto but they had a
slow season this year and failed to impress selectors. They won
the World Championships last year and finished the season on top
of the world rankings.

Coach Christian Hadinata split the twosome to match Chandra
and Tony. The new partnership proved as lethal as the old one,
with Chandra and Tony sweeping the Swedish Open and Danish Open
and reaching the All England final ahead of the Thomas Cup.

Lund said yesterday the doubles players would be the
Indonesian team's trump card.

"No matter which pairings they will field in a tie, Indonesia
will take the two doubles matches," Lund, a former doubles
specialist, said.

Lund said the unfit second-choice singles player Peter
Rasmussen had given Denmark a headache but he was upbeat about
the team's chances of winning the Cup for the first time.

Barring unforeseen injuries, Denmark parades an ideal singles
team comprising world number one Peter Gade Christensen, Olympic
gold medalist Poul Erik Hoyer-Larsen, world champion Rasmussen
and Kenneth Johanssen.

"We do have determination to play our best, but we are not as
good as we were two years ago. With Peter's injury having healed,
reaching the final match will be a surprise for us," Lund said.

Denmark upset favorite China in 1996 to reach its second Cup
final after the first in 1978. The European side fell to
Indonesia in both their final showdowns.

Both Lund and Lyngby agreed that China would be invincible in
the Uber Cup women's championship, thanks to its players who
currently dominate the world rankings.

"China fields four singles players who are ranked among the
world's top five. The fact itself shows how strong it is compared
to South Korea, Indonesia and Denmark," Lyngby said.

Lund said no one could stop the indomitable Chinese women's
team from taking the Uber Cup after a four-year lapse.

China won five consecutive Uber Cup finals between 1984 and
1992. Considered the red-hot favorite, China suffered a 1-4
drubbing by Indonesia in the final two years ago. (amd)