Five countries in hunt for Thomas Cup

Five countries in hunt for Thomas Cup

By Primastuti Handayani

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): The Thomas and Uber Cups are not merely
badminton's premier men's and women's team events, but also
symbolize which countries are literally calling the shots in the
sport.

This year's cups, staged at the Putra Indoor Stadium, are set
to play out in two markedly different scenarios. Five teams carry
an equal fighting chance for the Thomas Cup, but the Uber seems
to be a case of guessing who will be the losing finalist.

Thomas Cup defending champion Indonesia will find it tough to
bring home the trophy for the 12th time since 1958.

It will have its work cut out for it in facing another
favorite, China, which is drawn in its yellow group in the round-
robin format and looking to take its fifth Thomas Cup.

On paper, China has the advantage of several young players who
defeated Indonesia's shuttlers in top tournaments earlier this
year. It has the psychological edge from Xia Xuanze's victory in
the All England, where he beat Taufik Hidayat in the final and
Hendrawan in the quarterfinals.

Indonesia is more powerful in both doubles pairings, with
world number one Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan eager to create
another piece of history. Second doubles Ricky Subagja and Rexy
Mainaky also want to contribute another victory to their
illustrious career before they retire.

Despite Indonesia's poor performance in singles events earlier
this year, China is not taking its opponents lightly.

"Indonesian shuttlers have positioned themselves as underdogs
for the event and it gives them a chance to play really well,"
said Chinese men's singles coach Tong Sin Fu.

China also worries that its inexperienced singles players may
not be able to withstand the pressure of the event.

In the blue group, 1998 runner-up Malaysia must struggle
against Denmark and South Korea to earn a place in the semifinal.

Malaysia, aiming to lift the trophy for the sixth time and in
front of its home crowd, will rely on world number four Wong
Choong Han in the singles and veteran Ong Ewe Hock. Third singles
is Roslin Hashim who has been known to cause upsets. In the
doubles, it is relying on Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah, number
five in the world.

Exhaustion

Denmark, aiming to become the first non-Asian country to win
the Thomas Cup, will depend heavily on world number one Peter
Gade Christensen and veteran Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen in the
singles and the fourth-ranked pair of Jens Eriksen and Jesper
Larsen. They are trying to regain their stamina after playing in
the European Championships three weeks ago.

The dark horse is South Korea, which will count on its superb
doubles teams of Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon, world number two,
and Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung, ranked third, to win vital
matches. Victories by them would mean one singles win, likely to
be accomplished by Ahn Jae-chang, would be enough to take most
ties.

In the Uber Cup, defending champion China is a class above its
opponents. Singles Gong Zhichao, Dai Yun and Ye Zhaoying are the
game's top singles players and the doubles team of Ge Fei and Gu
Jun is probably the greatest in the sport's history.

Its toughest contender will be Denmark, also coming off the
strain of the European Championships. Relying on talented but
erratic Camilla Martin in the singles and Helene Kirkegaard and
Rikke Olsen in the doubles, Denmark hopes to reach the final.

"Indonesia and Japan can give us trouble. Besides, we are too
tired after competing in the championships. We only had one
week's rest," said Martin.

Despite her appraisal, Indonesia, without the singles strength
of Susi Susanti, South Korea and Japan are unlikely to cause
major surprises.