JAKARTA (JP): At last, after a 19-year wait, the Uber Cup, the

JAKARTA (JP): At last, after a 19-year wait, the Uber Cup, the
symbol of supremacy in women's team badminton, returned to
Indonesia as the host nation dethroned heavily-favored six-time
champion China 3-2 in a nerve-wracking, hard-fought battle Friday
night at Senayan indoor stadium.

Fourteen-year-old Mia Audina showed maturity beyond her years
and proved deserving of her place on the team. She clinched the
Cup for Indonesia with an 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 win over Zhang Ning
in the final rubber.

This was sweet revenge for Indonesia, 2-3 losers to China in
the 1986 final staged at the same venue.

The title also completes Susi Susanti's trophy collection.
Having been on the national squad for the biennial event since
1986, Susi needed only an Uber Cup gold medal to go with her
Olympic, World Championship, All England and other major
individual titles.

Before a crowd of over 10,000 bloodthirsty homers, Indonesia,
as expected, opened up a 1-0 lead when world number one Susi
employed a defense-minded strategy to dispose of arch rival Ye
Zhaoying 11-4, 12-10.

The first doubles pair of Lili Tampi and Christine Finarsih
then rose to the occasion to stretch Indonesia's lead to 2-0 by
surviving a 65-minute nail-biter against Chen Ying and Wu Yuhong
15-13, 17-16.

The deafening cheers soon gave way to silence as the
titleholders, which have firmly ruled the roost in international
women's badminton for the past decade, bounced back to level the
score.

Yuliani Sentosa, in marked contrast to her glittering
performance against South Korea in the semifinals, conceded a 5-
11, 5-11 defeat to attack-minded Hang Jingna who hardly broke a
sweat during the less than 30 minute match.

Second doubles

Next up, the Indonesian second doubles team of Eliza and Zelin
Resiana, apparently suffering from stage fright in their Uber Cup
debut, bowed out quietly to Ge Fei and Gu Jun 10-15, 8-15.

The stage was thus set for Mia.

Still a junior high school student, Mia more than justified
coach Liang Chiusia's confidence in her. She rose to the
challenge magnificently by repeatedly dazzling her frenzied fans
with acrobatic strokes and an attacking style that surprised her
taller and more seasoned opponent.

Trailing 1-7 in the first set, the Indonesian badminton
sensation unleashed a barrage of accurate dropshots and powerful
smashes to string together 10 points to take the set.

Mia then raced to a commanding 7-1 lead and a match point in
the second set before losing her composure with a slew of
unforced errors.

The decider was all Mia, as she continually kept her opponent
off-balance in jumping to a 9-3 lead. Zhang saved a match point
at 10-4, but Mia remained unflappable to seal the match.

"That was sure a nervy performance, but frankly speaking we
were confident that Mia would live up to our expectations by
winning the final rubber," said her elated coach.

"We intentionally picked Mia instead of Yuni Kartika since we
needed a composed and collected player," she added.

All hell broke loose as the hometown fans screamed themselves
hoarse in jubilation as Mia was embraced by her teammates.
Security officials were forced to wield their batons to maintain
a semblance of order as the crowd attempted to charge onto the
court.

Such was the euphoria that prevailed throughout the entire
Indonesian camp that the organizers presented medals to the
winning team first. It should have been the other way around.

"It was actually a blunder," conceded Sumaryono, executive
chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), who
also served as the Indonesian team's chief de mission.

"We were are all overly excited so we didn't pay much
attention to such matters," he added.

Indonesia's only prior Uber Cup title came here in 1975 over
holder Japan 5-2, but since then the team had never advanced
beyond the semifinals. (amd/bas)

Results
Indonesia bt China, 3-2 (Indonesia first):
Susi Susanti bt Ye Zhaoying 11-4, 12-10; Lili Tampi/Finarsih bt
Chen Ying/Wu Yuhong 15-13, 17-16; Yuliani Sentosa lost to Hang
Jingna 5-11, 5-11; Eliza/Zelin Resiana lost to Ge Fei/Gu Jun 10-
15, 8-15; Mia Audina bt Zhang Ning 11-7, 10-12, 11-4.