RI beats Japan 5-0 in Uber Cup
By Arief Suryobuwono
HONG KONG (JP): Indonesia downed a stubborn Japan 5-0 on the first day of the final leg of the Uber Cup women's team championship yesterday.
Indonesian supporters enlivened the event with thunderous enthusiasm as the red and white of the national flag appeared in splashes of color across the Queen Elizabeth stadium.
On the adjoining court, China battled Russia's Uber Cuppers to a 5-0 defeat. World number one Ye Zhaoying demolished Rybkina Elena 11-1, 11-1. Han Jingna got rid of Yakusheva Marina 11-7, 11-4. Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu beat Chervakova Nadezda/Karachoka Ella 15-6, 15-8. Wang Chen humiliated Suchareva Elena 11-4, 11-8, and the world number one pair of Ge Fei/Gu Jun rout Rybkina Elena/Yakusheva Marina 15-1, 15-2.
Indonesia's team manager Lutfi Hamid said yesterday the 15-7, 15-13 win of the country's second women's doubles pair of Lili Tampi and Finarsih over Japan's number one duo of Tomomi Matsuo ad Masako Sakamoto was decisive.
Indonesia's queen Susi Susanti nailed an easy 11-3, 11-5 win over Hisako Mizui, who beat her at the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994. Uber Cup heroine Mia Audina, in her first outing after suffering from a lingering knee injury last year, got rid of Yasuko Mizui 11-6, 11-2. All of this was pretty much expected, but Lili and Finarsih's win was, as Lutfi put it, the result of "a correct and daring experimental strategy".
"We deliberately fielded our second doubles partnership of Lili and Finarsih instead of our first doubles pair of Eliza and Zelin Resiana," Lutfi said. The reason, Lutfi said, was that Lili and Finarsih, after exhausting observation, were considered more able to play effectively against Tomomi and Sakamoto than Eliza and Zelin.
The Japanese first doubles women's pair was very strong. As Lutfi pointed out, it successfully forced the world number one partnership of China's Ge Fei and Gu Jun to a rubber set in the Uber Cup's last qualifying round matches in Oakland, New Zealand, last month.
Eliza, however, was not paired with her usual partner Zelin. Instead, she was teamed up with newcomer Deyana Lomban. The trial duo beat Aiko Miyamura and Akiko Miyamura 15-5, 15-10. "For the time being, Eliza and Lomban produce a better synergy than Eliza and Zelin," Lutfi said.
Coach Imelda Wiguna added that the new duo of Eliza and Deyana has passed through the three-month probation period, which provided a strong basis for fielding them yesterday. "Deyana was a bit clumsy because it was her first Uber Cup match," Imelda said. "But her defense is improving."
As for Lili and Finarsih, Imelda gave two thumbs up for teamwork. "But a too confident Finarsih, fueled by a wish to end the game as soon as possible, lacked composure. This gave the Japanese a chance to tie them 8-8 during the second set," Imelda explained.
Although the last Indonesia-Japan match, pitting Meluawati and Takako Ida, was longer, it provided a special thrill as Takako, dubbed "Japanese Rambo" by Meluawati's coach Liang Chiu Sia, downed Meluawati 2-11 in the first set. Meluawati, or Mei Ling as she is usually called, played it wrong, Chiu Sia said.
In the second set, Meluawati was riding the wind and beat the persistent, nothing-to-lose Japanese 11-4. In the rubber set Meluawati fully followed Chiu Sia's advice. She disposed of Takako 11-0.
Today's fixtures feature the first-day Thomas Cup matches, which will see Indonesia taking on the great wall of China.
Results
Uber Cup
Group A:
Indonesia 5 Japan 0 (Indonesian names first)
Susi Susanti bt Hisako Mizui 11-3, 11-5; Lili Tampi/Finarsih bt Tomomi Matsuo/Masako Sakamoto 15-7, 15-13; Mia Audina bt Yasuko Mizui 11-6, 11-2; Eliza/Deyana Lomban bt Aiko Miyamura/Akiko Miyamura 15-5, 15-10; Meluawati bt Takako Ida 2-11, 11-4, 11-0
China 5 Russia 0 (Chinese names first)
Ye Zhaoying bt Elena Rybkina 11-1, 11-2; Han Jingna bt Marina Yakusheva 11-7, 11-4; Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu bt Nadezda Chervakova/Ella Karachkova 15-6, 15-8; Wang Chen bt Elena Suchareva 11-4, 11-8; Ge Fei/Gu Jun bt Rybkina/Yakusheva 15-1, 15-2
Thomas Cup -- Page 14