Indonesia beats Malaysia to keep Thomas Cup group lead

Indonesia beats Malaysia to keep Thomas Cup group lead

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Guangzhou, China

Indonesian shuttlers clinched their second victory after beating
archrival Malaysia 4-1 in a hard-fought match at the men's team
Thomas Cup Group B qualifying round here on Sunday.

First singles Marlev Mainaky was beaten 1-7, 2-7, 7-2, 5-7 in
the first match against Wong Choong Han. The left-handed Wong
took the first game quickly at 7-1 with his accurate shots as
Marlev made too many unforced errors, sending the shuttlecock to
the net or behind Wong's line.

Marlev gave it up in the second with 2-7 but gained in the
third by scoring 7-2. In the fourth game, Marlev silenced
Indonesian spectators when trailing 1-6 to catch up to 5-6. But
Wong won the match as Marlev's cross drop-shot return went out.

With this defeat, the only Indonesian loss, Marlev is left 3-0
behind in his encounter with Wong.

First doubles Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto equalized the
position 1-1 when they met Chan Chong Ming and Lee Wan Wah in the
second match, scoring 7-0, 7-4, 7-4.

Lee had the first serve only to give it to the Indonesians.
The Indonesian pair sped it up to a 7-0 victory with only Candra
holding the serve.

The Malaysians caused some trouble in the second and third
games before falling 4-7, 4-7, although taking a 4-1 lead in the
third game.

Taufik Hidayat broke the tie 2-1 by coming from behind against
Ong Ewe Hock in the third match.

Taufik seemed uneasy with the first game as he lost 2-7
easily. Entering the second game, he regained his composure with
excellent court coverage, sending Ong all over his side of the
court. Taufik won the remaining three sets 7-2, 7-0, 8-6.

Ong looked ready to win the fourth game, forcing the decider
with a 6-2 lead. But Taufik broke the jinx and trailed one by one
before closing it for Indonesia.

Taufik also extended his head-to-head lead against Ong to 4-1.

As soon as Taufik won the match, a group of Indonesian
students here sang the Indonesia Raya national anthem as though
the Indonesian team had already secured a victory. Even chairman
of the Badminton Association of Indonesia, Chairul Tanjung, got
carried away and openly showed his support for the Indonesian
shuttlers during the match.

Second doubles of Halim Haryanto and Tri Kusheryanto secured
Indonesia's victory after beating Chong Tan Fook and Chew Choon
Eng in a straight-set match of 7-4, 7-4, 7-5.

Halim and Tri breezed through the first game, scoring 7-4
through a series of neat drives and placings.

The Malaysians gave stronger opposition in the second game as
Halim and Tri were sometimes caught motionless on the court while
misunderstanding who should return the shuttlecock. The points
were hardly gained but the Indonesians still won 7-4 when Chong
failed to return the shuttlecock across the net.

Chong made the same mistake when he failed to make an easy
return in the third game, giving 7-5 to Indonesia.

Hendrawan fought his match against Muhammad Hafiz Hashim in
the fifth match before winning with 3-7, 8-7, 7-8, 7-5, 7-4.

In another Group B match, Thailand gunned down newcomer
Germany 4-1, paving its way to the semifinals. Both Malaysia and
Thailand lost to Indonesia and beat Germany. On Tuesday,
Indonesia will see the Germans while Malaysia is set to face
neighbor Thailand.

Meanwhile in the Uber Cup matches, host and defending champion
China crushed South Korea 4-1 while the Japanese met newcomers
Germany in a tight match.

On Monday, Indonesia's girls will meet the Danes while Hong
Kong will face the Netherlands in Uber Cup Group A qualifying
round. Both Denmark and Indonesia have been thrown off the court,
leaving Hong Kong and the Netherlands in the semifinals.