Indonesia retains Thomas Cup crown

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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