Indonesia stuns Malaysia to retain Thomas Cup

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Guangzhou, China

Indonesia's men's shuttlers achieved their dream of being the first team ever to win the men's team Thomas Cup five times in a row after beating archrival Malaysia 3-2 in a tight match at the Tianhe Sports Center here on Sunday.

In total, Indonesia has won 13 out of 22 Thomas Cup contests.

Third singles Hendrawan broke the 2-2 tie against Muhammad Roslin Hashim in the do-or-die deciding match without having to work too much. The 2001 World Champion Hendrawan snatched most of his points from Roslin's unforced errors.

Hendrawan, as usual, was low profile about his heroic role.

"I'm not the best player in the tournament. I'm not a hero either," he told reporters after the match. "I just played my best. Perhaps, Roslin was under too much pressure to win the deciding match."

"But I must thank Ibu President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who had helped me with my citizenship," he said with tears in his eyes.

Before heading to Guangzhou, Hendrawan had to struggle for more than a year to get his Republic of Indonesia Citizenship Certificate (SBKRI). It was only after his complaint was published in a newspaper that he finally got his certificate.

Both shuttlers were engaged in a tight match in the first game, leveling the points 4-4 before Hendrawan broke for a 6-4 lead. Roslin made his own break and took a 7-6 lead only to have to surrender 8-7 in the end.

The second and third games became a one-sided contest as Hendrawan exploited his excellent netting-play skills to wrap up 7-2, 7-1 and bring the coveted Cup home.

As soon as Roslin's return landed out, Hendrawan's teammates rushed onto the court and carried him on their shoulders for a victory lap.

If Hendrawan refused to take the credit, maybe he will be content to share it with second doubles Halim Haryanto and Tri Kusheryanto for restoring Indonesia's hope after trailing 1-2.

Halim and Tri won 8-7, 7-8, 7-1, 7-3 against Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook in the fourth match.

Halim and Tri were leading 6-1 in the first game but their poor defense allowed Malaysians Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook to tie 6-6 and 7-7. The Indonesians won after Lee failed to return Tri's serve.

In the second game, it was the Indonesians turn to trail 1-5 before coming from behind and equalizing 6-6. This time, however, the Malaysians won.

Finding their best form, Halim and Tri played extremely well in the third and fourth games with the full support of the Indonesian supporters, who are mostly Guangzhou-based students.

Malaysia won its first point through first singles Wong Choon Hann who defeated Marlev Mainaky 7-5, 7-5, 7-1 in revenge for his defeat in the Group B qualifying round.

"Marlev played well in the first two games. But he then played safely while holding the lead," coach Agus Dwi Santoso said. "He should have continued attacking and played for safety."

His victory granted Wong a 4-0 head-to-head lead over Marlev.

Indonesian first doubles pairing of Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto, the 1997 world champions, then equalized 1-1 at the expense of Chan Choon Ming and Chew Choon Eng in the second match with a 7-3, 7-4, 7-2 win.

The Malaysian side was overjoyed when young shuttler Lee Tsuen Seng beat the more experienced Taufik Hidayat 1-7, 7-5, 7-2, 2-7, 7-3 to take over the lead 2-1.

Taufik's poor performance was partly due to an unfair decision by umpire Nahathai Sornprachum of Thailand when he called Taufik's smash as out although it was well inside Lee's court.

"The controversial decision indeed affected Taufik's performance," said training director Christian Hadinata.

Despite being defeated 2-3 in the final, Malaysia's coach Indra Gunawan said there were still many things to be cherished.

"I think the shuttlers have done a good job although there were some disappointments with their performances," he said.

"We opted from the beginning to field our young players with all of the risks this entailed. They will become more mature in the future with this experience."

Also present to witness the historical event was former vice president Try Sutrisno who is also a former chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), Indonesian ambassador to China A.A Kustia and another former chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo.

The Thomas Cup team is scheduled to return home on Monday and PBSI chairman, Chaerul Tanjung, has promised to encourage the world of business to contribute to a bonus fund for the national heroes.