Indonesia, China to fight it out in Uber Cup
Indonesia, China to fight it out in Uber Cup
By Arif Suryobuwono
HONG KONG (JP): Both defending champion Indonesia and China
stand an equal chance of beating each other on the second day of
the Uber Cup women's team badminton championship here today.
Indonesia's team manager Iwan Setiawan told reporters yes
terday that even though the Chinese players look better in terms
of their world rankings, he believed that his team is by no means
inferior.
China's Ye Zhaoying ranks No. 1 in the world and Susi is No.
3. But actually, the two are equal, Iwan said.
Barcelona Olympic gold medalist Susi beat Ye 11-5, 11-2 for
the Taipei Masters title in mid-January, but a week later, Ye
took revenge with a 11-7, 11-8 win in the Japan Open final.
Iwan added that in his opinion, China's world No. 1
partnership of Ge Fei and Gu Jun were not as strong as many
thought.
Therefore, both Indonesia and China cannot take each other
lightly in today's matches. "The side which takes a 2-0 lead
first will have the biggest chance of winning," he said.
Iwan said that even though South Korea played unconvincingly
against a progressing Denmark on the first day, it would be more
convenient for Indonesia to play Denmark in the semifinals next
Thursday.
"We have better women's singles (in Susi Susanti and Mia
Audina) than Denmark, which relies only on Camilla Martin," Iwan
reasoned.
"Therefore, a victory over China would mean a semifinal match
against Denmark," Iwan said. Iwan believed that in Group B, South
Korea will eventually emerge as the winner, with Denmark the
runner-up.
Indonesia beat China 3-2 in the 1994 final on home ground to
take the trophy it last won in 1975. China had previously won the
Cup five times in a row since 1984.
Avoid Koreans
Iwan said China might also want to avoid South Korea, which
was not in top form because its doubles specialist, Jang Hye-ock,
was not well.
South Korea edged Denmark 3-2 only after laboring for three
hours 68 minutes on Thursday, which saw the world No. 2 pair of
Gil Young-ah and Jang Hye-ock crash to Denmark's Marlene Thomsen
and Lisbet Stuer-Lauridsen.
Bang Soo-hyun got off to a shaky start before beating Denmark
No. 1 Camilla Martin 11-7, 11-8. South Korea received another
threat when Anne Sondergaard defeated Kim Ji-hyun 11-4, 1-11, 11-
8.
South Korea's second doubles team of Kim Mee-hyang and Kim
Shin-young equalized by beating Helene Kirkegaard and Rikke Olsen
12-15, 17-15, 15-3, before Ra Kyung-min sealed the Danes' fate,
winning with an 11-7, 11-0 rout of minnow Mette Pedersen.
On the other hand, China's coach, Hou Jia Zhang, said that the
way Indonesia drowned Japan 5-0 on the first day indicated that
Indonesia's Uber Cuppers were by no means underdogs. "They are
more skilled than both our players and South Korea's. Indonesia
stands a good chance to outdo us in at least two events. One is
in the singles and the other in the doubles," Hou said, "If Susi
and Mia play correctly, they are unbeatable."
Denmark's team manager Morten Frost Hansen warned, however,
that even though China and Indonesia prefer his team rather than
South Korea, "they should watch out. We can upset them at any
time".
South Korea's hard-earned win over Hansen's Uber Cup squad
showed that "playing Denmark cannot be regarded as a walkaway,"
said the former All England champion.
"We were unlucky last night not to beat Korea. We could have
won. After all, the result shows that we have made considerable
improvement. Two years ago, we would not be able to get so close
to Korea," Morten said.
However, Hansen did not think that his team has a chance to
make it to the final. "We just hope to get to the semifinals.
After all, we have to be realistic."
Today's Uber Cup fixtures
Group A: China vs Indonesia, Russia vs Japan
Group B: Denmark vs England, South Korea vs Hong Kong