Indonesia given fright by unheralded Dutch

Indonesia given fright by unheralded Dutch

HONG KONG (Reuters): Holder Indonesia nearly paid the price
for resting top singles player Susi Susanti yesterday when they
just edged Netherlands 3-2 to reach the semifinals of the Uber
Cup women's team championship.

The 21-year-old Ellen Angelina, playing her first Uber Cup
match, was the heroine for Indonesia, beating Lonneke Janssen 11-
2, 11-7 in the deciding match of the group B tie.

"I was a bit nervous but it was important for me to achieve
the win," said Angelina. "My opponent was not that quick about
the court so I tried to make her chase the shuttle."

Indonesia took a 2-0 lead but then lost their way in an
emotionally-charged encounter which had their noisy fans shouting
alternately in delight and anguish.

Perennial challenger South Korea joined Indonesia in the
semifinals after their 4-1 win over England.

Indonesia and South Korea, with two wins each, meet tomorrow
to decide who tops group B and the pairings for the semifinals.

"We knew we were taking a risk by resting Susi (Susanti) and
switching around our doubles pairings. But we wanted Susi to be
fresh for the match against Korea -- it was not a case of
underestimating the opposition," said Indonesian coach Imelda
Wiguno.

"I just told Angelina that we trusted her -- I am proud of
her. I hope the tension has gone from the team after this win."

The Netherlands had to raise funds to finance the trip to Hong
Kong and were delighted at their good showing.

"We played well and were a bit unlucky not to have won.
Janssen was a bit nervous as it was the first time she had played
in Asia," said Netherlands coach Robbie Kneefel. "I think
Indonesia expected to win 5-0 and we surprised them."

World number 10 Mia Audina, the heroine for Indonesia four
years ago when as a 14-year-old she won the rubber which gave
them victory over China, stepped in to replace Susanti and
trounced Judith Meulendijks 11-2, 11-7.

A hard-fought 15-5, 17-15 victory for Elisa and Deyana Lomban
over Erica Van Den Heuvel and Monique Hoogland tightened
Indonesia's grip on the tie but an off-form Meiluawati failed to
capitalize on a 6-2 lead in the deciding game and lost 9-12, 11-
5, 11-7 to Brenda Beenhakker.

The experienced Indarti Isolina and Finarsih were expected to
put the result beyond doubt but Nicole Van Hooren and Lotte
Jonathans raised their game and won 18-15, 3-15, 15-9.

That set the stage for the second singles and Angelina, ranked
outside the world's top 50, showed a steely calm to hand
Indonesia victory.

South Korea, beaten 4-1 by Indonesia in the 1996 semifinals,
had a comfortable passage against an England side coached by
former Korean men's favorite Park Joo-bong.

China and Denmark also took victories in the second session
yesterday.

China defeated Japan 4-1 while Denmark beat Hong Kong 4-1.

Indonesia, South Korea, China and Denmark advanced to the
semifinals.

Results

Group A:

China 4 Japan 1 (Chinese names first):
Ye Zhaoying bt Kanako Yonekura 11-5, 11-7
Ge Fei/Gu Jun bt Yoshiko Iwata/Haruko Matsuda 15-2, 15-6
Gong Zhichao lost to Yasuko Mizui 11-4, 1-11, 3-11
Qiang Hong/Liu Lu bt Hiroki Nagamine/Satomi Igawa 15-5, 15-10
Han Jingna bt Chihiro Ohsaka 11-4, 11-0

Denmark 4 Hong Kong 1 (Danish names first)
Camilla Martin bt Koon Wai-chee 11-1, 11-8
Mette Pedersen lost to Ling Wan-ting 11-6, 9-12, 3-11
Rikke Olsen/Marlene Thomsen beat Koon/Tung Chau-man 15-10 15-7
Mette Sorensen beat Ng Ching 11-5 11-3
Ann Jorgensen/Majken Vange beat Ling/Chan Mei-mei 18-13 15-9

Group B:

Indonesia 3 Netherlands 2 (Indonesian names first)
Mia Audina bt Judith Meulendijks 11-2 11-7
Elisa/Deyana Lomban beat Erica Van Den Heuvel/Monique Hoogland 15-5, 17-15
Meiluawati lost to Brenda Beenhakker 12-9, 5-11, 7-11
Indarti Isolina/Finarsih lost to Nicole Van Hooren/Lotte
Jonathans 15-18, 15-3, 9-15
Ellen Angelina bt Lonneke Janssen 11-2 11-7

South Korea 4 England 1 (South Korean names first)
Kim Ji-hyun bt Julia Mann 11-2, 11-1
Ra Kyung-min/Jang Hye-ock bt Joanne Goode/Donna Kellogg 15-9, 15-7
Lee Joo-hyun bt Tracy Hallam 11-2, 8-11, 12-10
Kim Shin-young/Chung Jae-hee lost to Joanne Davies/Sarah
Hardaker 14-17, 2-15
Lee Soon-deuk bt Tracy Dineen 12-10, 11-7