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.