Denmark, U.S. arrive for Thomas, Uber Cups

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta

Denmark and the United States were the first teams to arrive here for the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton championships, which begin at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Organizing committee deputy Mimi Irawan said both teams arrived at Soekarno Hatta Airport on Monday at 12.30 p.m and went straight to the Hilton Hotel.

Denmark, a European badminton powerhouse, has come with 26 members, while the U.S. team has arrived with just five players, including former Indonesian star Tony Gunawan.

Mimi said the U.S. team was earlier scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. She had no information about the makeup of the team.

The teams are set to hold their first practice session on Tuesday morning.

The championship, in which the men contest the Thomas Cup and the women the Uber Cup, runs until May 16 with 16 participating countries from five continents.

Indonesia and China are the defending champions in the Thomas and Uber cups respectively.

Most countries will take part in both competitions. However, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Australia and Canada are only qualified for the Uber Cup while Thailand, New Zealand and the United States only entered the Thomas.

South Africa is expected to arrive on Tuesday while the rest of teams should be here Wednesday.

"The participants should arrive two days before the event begins at the latest," Mimi said.

As the host, Indonesia has the advantage of already testing the playing venue.

The other teams would have their practice sessions at another badminton hall at Jl. Asia Africa next to the Bung Karno Sports Compound, Mimi said.

Japan has opted to train in the Basketball hall inside the sports compound.