Indonesia beats S. Korea to reach Thomas Cup final
Indonesia beats S. Korea to reach Thomas Cup final
By Arif Suryobuwono
HONG KONG (JP): Bold and cold Joko Suprianto shrugged off an
age disadvantage to outwit Park Sung-woo, ushering in Indonesia's
3-2 edging of South Korea in a delayed Thomas Cup semifinal
yesterday.
The 30-year-old Indonesian stealthily overcame his 9-13
deficit in the first set with clever half-court chops to beat the
24-year-old Korean 18-17, 15-1 in a tiring match.
The semifinal was delayed for 30 minutes due to a bomb scare
at the Queen Elizabeth stadium, the venue of the Thomas Cup and
Uber Cup finals. It turned out to be a hoax.
Hong Kong Badminton Association vice president Soo Ka Ching
announced they found a plastic bag with a note inside reading
"Don't touch, dangerous!". The bang was hung on a cistern in one
of the men's toilets.
Indonesia's more frightening partnership of Ricky Subagja and
Rexy Mainaky rolled over South Korea's doubles pair of Ha Tae-
kwon and Kang Kyung-jin like an avalanche. The pair disposed of
their opponents 15-10, 15-7 in 40 minutes to give Indonesia a 2-0
lead.
Indonesia rested world champion Hariyanto Arbi and let Olympic
gold medalist Alan Budikusuma finish the job. Alan sealed South
Korea's fate with a comfortable 15-6, 15-9 win over Lee Kwan-jin,
earning Indonesia an unassailable 3-0 lead.
The Indonesians fell apart in the remaining two games.
Indonesia's second doubles of Deny Kantono and Antonius fell to
Park Joo-bong and Kim Dong-moon 0-15, 5-15, while Ardy Wiranata
lost to Ahn Jae-chang 8-15, 3-15.
Jumping smashes
Defending champion Indonesia will play Denmark tomorrow for
the coveted Thomas Cup. It will be the second finals meeting
between the teams in 17 years. Indonesia routed Denmark 9-0 in
the 1979 final.
World number one Joko kept lowering the birdie to keep Park
retrieving, before finishing the South Korean with jumping
smashes.
Joko varied this attack with net rallies, an open wound for
Park.
"That way he found most of his answers in the net," said Joko,
whose fluctuating world number one position will now find firm
anchorage.
Joko's coach, Triadji, referred to Joko's second set as the
real Joko. "That was Joko at his best. He cleverly managed his
tempo to allow recovery. Park, on the other hand, clearly lost
steam and fitness. He looked like he was walking in the mud,
heavily answering Joko's chops."
Alan, who also decided Indonesia's win over China in their
group match last Friday, said he never thought he could beat Lee
that easily.
"Lee is very persistent. In the second set I began to feel
tired and this made it easier for him to score points." Alan
said.
Indonesia's team manager Lutfi Hamid said Indonesia was lucky
all its players performed extraordinarily well today. He added
that the key to his team's victory lay in Alan. "Our decision to
field Alan instead of Hariyanto paid off," Lutfi said. He refused
to explain why, only offering that it was a "new" Alan he was
referring to.
Lutfi, however, was dissatisfied with how the Danes were
ranked. "If doubles specialist Thomas Lund failed to come due to
injury, his partner Jon Holst Christensen cannot remain as the
first-string doubles. But the referees ruled out our complaints."
Lutfi was also unhappy with the doping tests which, according
to him were not administered randomly. "Every Indonesian player
who wins is subjected to a dope test. When I asked the referee
how many Danish players are tested, his answer was 'I can't tell
you.'"
South Korea's doubles specialist Park Joo-bong, who acted as a
spokesman for his team, said the Indonesian doubles team was
actually very strong.
"Yes, we lost, but at least we performed well."
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