Malaysia still in running, Korea into final four

Malaysia still in running, Korea into final four

By Primastuti Handayani

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Host Malaysia saved face in earning another
chance to reach the semifinals by beating India 4-1 and South
Korea upset favorite Denmark 3-2 in the Thomas Cup at the Putra
Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

Malaysia's first singles Wong Choong Hann got off to a shaky
start in his debut as the opening singles against Pulella
Gopichand.

In the first game, both shuttlers played nervously and tied at
12-12. Gopichand took two points to lead 14-12 but Wong, relying
on his experience from the Commonwealth Games, forced deuce and
took the game 17-14.

The second game was almost a repeat of the first except the
Indian showed his mettle to take it 17-14.

In the decider, Gopichand, who recently recovered from a bout
of typhoid, was mentally and physically spent, losing 1-15.

Malaysia's first doubles Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook
seemed to wilt under the high expectations of 5,000 home crowd
spectators, losing 7-15 in the first game to Markose Bristow and
Vijaydeep Singh.

They quickly recouped to win 15-2, 15-1 in the next games to
put the 1998 runner-up ahead 2-0.

It was a tough tussle in the third match between Yong Hock Kin
and Nikhil Kanetkar but the inexperienced young Indian could not
rise to demands at critical points. Yong won 15-9, 17-14.

The 1996 Olympic Games silver medalists Cheah Soon Kit and Yap
Kim Hock were comfortable 15-6, 15-3 winners over George Thomas
and Jaseel Ismail

India's only victory came when Roslin Hashim retired when
trailing 10-15, 15-5, 4-8 to Sidharth Jain due to a right elbow
injury.

Experience

Malaysia's team manager Mohamed Al Amin said he understood his
first singles and doubles players were tense because they were
new to playing for their country in the sport's most prestigious
men's team event.

"This is the first Thomas Cup for Choon Hann, Tan Fook and Wan
Wah to play as the first singles and doubles for Malaysia in
Malaysia. The high demand from local spectators and the pressure
of winning influenced their performance.

"I believe our players don't feel happy about their
performance. We will try to create a more conducive situation to
enable the players to gain more self-confidence for the next
match."

In the night's upset tie, world number one Peter Gade
Christensen of Denmark easily defeated South Korean Shon Seung-mo
15-5, 15-10.

The Korean pair of Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon fought hard
to overcome Martin Lundgaard Hansen and Lars Paaske 17-16, 15-5.

The biggest upset was when Danish second singles Poul-Erik
Hoyer-Larsen, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, lost in a thrilling
struggle to Lee Hyun-il 15-13, 12-15, 12-15 in 67 minutes.

Lee, who also defeated Ong Ewe Hock in an earlier tie with
Malaysia, forced the 34-year-old Dane into committing unforced
errors with his neat net play.

Another upset occurred when world number three pairing Lee
Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung were humiliated by Jens Eriksen and
Jesper Larsen 10-15, 1-15.

In the decisive final match, Park Tae-sang sent Korea to the
semifinals by defeating Kenneth Jonassen 15-7, 15-7.

In the Uber Cup purple group, heavily favored China smoothed
its path to the semifinals with a 5-0 whitewashing of the
Netherlands.

The only surprise of the tie was when Chinese first singles
Dai Yun, number three in the world, lost a game to Judith
Meulendijks, ranked 17, before recovering to win 11-3, 7-11, 11-
7.

Chinese head coach Li Yongbo expressed disappointment about
Dai's form.

"It happened in every match, I wasn't really surprised.
However, it depends on each player's performance. But Dai
performed her usual play."

South Korea's women overwhelmed Sweden 5-0.

Thomas Cup

Denmark lost to South Korea 2-3: Peter Gade Christensen bt
Shon Seung-mo 15-5, 15-10; Martin Lundgaard Hansen/Lars Paaske
lost to Kim Dong-moon/Ha Tae-kwon 16-17, 5-15; Poul-Erik
Hoyer-Larsen lost to Lee Hyun-il 15-13, 12-15, 12-15; Jesper
Larsen/Jens Eriksen bt Lee Dong-soo/Yoo Yong-sung 15-10, 15-1;
Kenneth Jonassen lost to Park Tae-sang 7-15, 7-15

Malaysia vs India: Wong Choong Hann bt Pulella Gopichand
17-14, 14-17, 15-1; Lee Wan Wah/Choong Tan Fook vs Bristow
Markose/Vijaydeep Singh Yong Hock Kin bt Nikhil Kanetkar 15-9,
17-14; Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock bt George Thomas/Jaseel Ismail
15-6, 15-3; Roslin Hashim lost to Sidharth Jain 10-15, 15-5, 4-8
(retired)

Uber Cup

China bt Netherlands 5-0: Dai Yun bt Judith Meulendijks 11-3,
7-11, 11-7; Huang Nanyan/Yang Wei bt Nicole van Hooren/Lotte
Jonathans 15-4, 15-2; Ye Zhaoying bt Karina de Wit 11-1, 11-0;
Gao Ling/Qin Yiyuan bt Carolien Glebbeek/Betty Krab 15-0, 15-0;
Gong Ruina bt Lonneke Janssen 11-6, 11-0

South Korea bt Sweden 5-0: Kim Ji-hyun bt Margit Borg 6-11,
13-12, 11-7; Lee Kyung-won bt Karolina Ericsson 11-2, 11-7; Kim
Kyeung-ran vs Johanna Holgersson 11-7, 11-0; Lee Hyo-jung/Yim
Kyung-jin bt Johanna Persson/Anna Lundin 15-8, 15-9; Lee
Kyung-won/Chung Jae-hee bt Margit Borg/Johanna Holgersson 15-5,
15-7