Indonesia survives scares to outpoint China 5-0 in Thomas Cup

JAKARTA (JP): In what could well prove to be a rehearsal for the final on May 21, the Indonesian favorites comfortably overcame China 5-0 in their last round-robin match in the Thomas Cup at Senayan indoor stadium on Saturday night.

With the win, Indonesia emerged as Group A champion and will meet Group B runner-up in the cross-over semifinals scheduled for May 17-18. China finished second in the Group A and will face Group B winner in the semi-finals.

It was not quite as easy for Indonesia as the scoreline suggests. The host team was given an early scare, with world number one Joko Suprianto forced to dig into his deepest reserves to bounce back after losing the first set. In the second set, he had to fight his way back from 12-13 down against a fired-up and in-form Dong Jiong.

The upstart Dong, playing first singles in place of Liu Jun, came within a whisker of pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament. He was just two points away from victory over Joko.

Dong, 21, ranked a lowly 17th in the world, gave the home favorite the fright of his life in a superb match marked by scintillating exchanges and shifts of momentum.

The Chinese, who had an answer for all Joko's best shots for much of the duel, silenced the near-capacity 9,000 crowd when he took the first set, 15-11.

Dong, unrattled by the vociferous support of the home fans rooting for the Indonesian, brilliantly fought back after trailing 2-9 to draw the score level at 11-11 and then clinch the next four points to win the set.

With nothing to lose, Dong smashed at every opportunity and his powerful drives found their way past the defense of the 27- year-old Indonesian time and time again.

Joko took an early lead in the second set, but Dong once again staged a major offensive and moved ahead 10-8.

The Indonesian looked as if he were on the brink of defeat as his younger Chinese opponent served at 13-12. But experience won out in the end as the well-composed Joko clawed his way back to deuce before taking the set 18-16.

With his confidence restored, Joko never allowed Dong back into the match. In fact it was no fight in the decider as the Indonesian quickly tied up the set 15-5.

The reigning All-England doubles champions, Rudy Gunawan and Bambang Suprianto snuffed out the game challenge of China's top doubles pair of Chen Kang and Chen Hongyong with a 17-14, 15-2 win to give Indonesia a 2-0 lead.

All-England winner Haryanto Arbi locked up the tie with a comfortable 15-5, 15-5 victory over Xie Yang Chun.

The second Chinese duo, Jiang Xin and Yu Qi, were no match for Indonesia's Ricky Subagya and Rexy Mainaky who struck up a well- knit partnership to roll over their Chinese counterparts, 15-7, 15-4.

Ardy Wiranata completed the shutout by beating Sun Jun 15-2, 15-12.

In a match between also-rans, Sweden posted its sole win in the tournament with a 5-0 whitewash of the winless Finns.

The inexperienced Finland team, making their Thomas Cup debut, were no match for Europe's second best team.

Uber Cup

In the women's Uber Cup, China took a giant step towards the defense of its crown when it beat old nemesis South Korea 3-2.

The two countries have gone head to head in last three Uber Cup finals, with the Chinese emerging victorious each time.

The contest was distinguished by an outstanding battle between South Korea's Bang Soo-hyun, a silver medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and Ye Zhaoying, who won last year's Indonesia Open with an upset victory over top seed Susi Susanti of Indonesia.

World No.2 Ye and Bang, ranked just a rung below, treated the spectators to a high quality match before the Chinese won the match 9-11, 12-10, 12-9. Their duel was without a doubt the most engrossing match of this Uber Cup series so far.

Only a razor-thin line separated the two players and Ye's greater mental resolve saw her through in the end.

With the win China topped Group A and South Korea finished as the runner-up.

In the semifinals China will take on the Group B runner-up, with South Korea to be pitted against Group B champion.

In Saturday's other Uber Cup tie between two sides which are no longer in the running for the semi-finals Japan trounced new comer Russia 5-0. (bas)