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.