Indonesia retains Thomas Cup crown
By Arif Suryobuwono
HONG KONG (JP): Indonesia certified its grip on world badminton when it won the Thomas Cup crown for a record 10th time yesterday.
Just 24 hours after an ebullient Uber Cup victory, Indonesia capped its title defense campaigns with a stylish 5-0 whitewashing of Denmark in the final.
World champion Hariyanto Arbi, whose error-prone play earned him the "dirty player" epitaph from Indonesian sportswriters, withstood the pressure of his key role well, downing Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen 15-8, 15-8 to clinch an unsurmountable 3-0 lead.
As soon as Hariyanto won the deciding match, a special congratulations was sent from President Soeharto through Indonesia's consulate general in Hong Kong, Lili Sobari.
Hariyanto shrugged off lower-back pain which started as he led the first set 6-4, to maintain the attack throughout the match.
It took a nervy Hariyanto three change-overs to convert his 14-5 lead into a victory. He sealed the win with a nose-dive smash of Stuer-Lauridsen's wide return.
"I feel more comfortable playing Europeans than Chinese or Koreans. That's why I missed in the semifinal against South Korea," Hariyanto said after a fervent celebration on the court.
Indonesia's victory denied Denmark's bid for its first title. It has reached six finals since 1949.
Joko Suprianto made an ideal start by overcoming reigning All- England champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen 18-14, 15-5 in the first singles match.
Indonesia raced 2-0 ahead when Indonesia's doubles specialists Rexy Mainaky and Ricky Subagja reduced Jon Holst Christensen and Jim Laugesen's synergy to a 15-5, 15-7 shamble. Rexy fell on his knees, his hands clasped in prayer, while his partner Ricky patted him on the shoulders after the convincing win.
Second-string doubles team of Gunawan and Bambang Supriyanto stretched Indonesia's lead with a 15-7, 14-18, 15-9 win over Henrik Svarrer and Michael Soogard in a hard-fought battle lasting over an hour.
Olympic champion Alan Budikusuma completed the thrashing, a repeat of the 9-0 rout of Denmark in the 1979 final, by beating a demoralized Peter Rasmussen 15-8, 15-6.
Brilliant
Joko showed his brilliance in breaking Poul-Erik's magical fight back, a skill the Dane demonstrated repeatedly during the championships.
Poul-Erik lost to Dong Jiong 6-15 in the first set before overcoming him 18-17, 15-11 in the last two sets. The Dane also lost to Rashid Sidek of Malaysia 16-18 in the first set before later downing him 15-13, 15-6. Poul also fell to Tam Kai Chuen of Hong Kong 14-18 in the first set.
Joko last fell to Poul-Erik last met in China Open last November.
Joko, smarting from his China Open loss, said that in the first set he just let Poul attack him. "I just answered his shots while trying to direct my smashes to his body," Joko said.
"I was about to give up and just tried to shoot back as good as I could in the second set."
Joko was surprised, however, as his so-so shots worked. "I sensed he was in doubt. This boosted my confidence. Moreover, I felt comfortably with the court."
Poul-Erik, on the other hand, attributed his loss to his rush.
"Probably because I believed in myself too much. I should have stopped to take a drink," he said.
He added that he was too careful to make each of his shots as correct as possible. His concern only resulted in mistakes.
Joko's coach, Triadji, said Poul was able to closely match Joko in the first set because Joko kept giving him left forehand shots. Joko's other pitfalls were his half lobs.
"Thank God, Joko soon realized his mistakes," Triadji said.
Denmark's coach, Morten Frost Hansen, congratulated Indonesia's training director Iwan Setiawan by embracing him right after Indonesia's 3-0 win. Morten also shook hands with almost all the Indonesian team.
Jubilant team manager, Lutfi, said that cash bonuses are now awaiting Indonesia's triumphant Thomas Cup and Uber Cup players and officials.
"I don't know how much each of them will receive, but it seems that they will earn more than the amount when they regained both the trophies two years ago," Lutfi said.
The Badminton Association of Indonesia and businesspeople handed each winning team Rp 45 million in 1994.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports said that the government is also considering rewarding the country's best badminton players for their successful campaign, but refused to reveal the form of the awards.
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