Denmark eliminates Malaysia in Thomas Cup
By Arif Suryobuwono
HONG KONG (JP): Denmark ended six years of Thomas Cup misery yesterday when it cruised to the semifinals of the men's badminton world team championships at the expense of former winner Malaysia.
The European champion finished the match with a convincing 4-1 win, but it had already secured its semifinal berth after second singles player Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen beat Malaysia's Ong Ewe Hock in straight sets 15-12, 15-6 earning Denmark a 2-1 lead in the do-or-die rubber.
Malaysia, beaten by South Korea last Friday, needed at least a 4-1 win to qualify for the semifinals.
A solid partnership of Michael Sogaard and Henrik Svarrer completed Denmark's celebrations with a 18-13, 7-15, 15-1 win over Tan Kim Her and Soo Beng Kiang. Denmark confirmed its total control of the match when Peter Rasmussen overcame Pang Chen 15- 12, 15-11 in the final match.
Unbeaten in the Group B round-robin matches, Denmark will now play four-times winner China in Friday's semifinals, while reigning champion Indonesia faces a tough draw against South Korea in the other semifinal.
All-England champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen put the Danes 1-0 up with his 16-18, 15-13, 15-6 win over Rashid Sidek in an exhausting encounter that lasted 76 minutes. But the world number one pair of Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock leveled the tie, thanks to their 15-0, 12-15, 15-7 win over Jon-Holst Christensen and Jim Laugesen.
A dejected Malaysian assistant manager, Jaelani Sidek, said afterward that his side cracked under the pressure during the nerve-wracking battle. "Those who had better control of their emotions deserved the victory," said Jaelani, a member of Malaysia's triumphant team in 1992. "There's no question about our physical fitness, we just failed to keep cool."
Malaysia has never failed to reach the semifinals of the biennial event since 1986. It upset Indonesia in the 1988 and 1990 semifinals and the 1992 final.
Shock
Indonesia maintained its unbeaten run in the Thomas Cup men's team badminton championship yesterday, but Ardy Wiranata was handed a shock that almost spoiled his team's victory over lowly England.
Ardy, the hero in Indonesia's 1994 Thomas Cup triumph, clawed back from losing the first set to see off attack-minded Colin Haughton 12-15, 15-3, 15-6 to complete the 5-0 crushing of the European challenger.
Despite the victory, Indonesian coach Indra Gunawan could not avoid grumbling after learning that his squad faces a tough semifinal against dark horse South Korea.
"Of course, we are more confident about playing Denmark in the semifinals. Anyway, we now have no choice but to battle it out against South Korea," Indra said.
In other Thomas Cup action yesterday, China thrashed Sweden 5- 0 but only after laboring in the first two matches which were very close.
South Korea also enjoyed a big win with a 5-0 rout of host Hong Kong, and warned Indonesia to expect a possible upset on Friday.
Results: Indonesia 5 England 0 China 5 Sweden 0 Denmark 4 Malaysia 1 South Korea 5 Hong Kong 0