RI gears up for clash against China
RI gears up for clash against China
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Defending champion Indonesia will meet its real challenger,
China, in Monday's Thomas Cup men's team championship group A at
the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium here, starting 7 p.m.
Both teams crushed the United States 5-0 in previous matches.
Around 8,500 tickets for the match have reportedly been sold
out to local badminton lovers.
On Indonesia's side, Taufik Hidayat in the singles, and Candra
Wijaya and Tri Kusharyanto in the doubles are the only old-hand
players who have defended the country several times, including in
the 2002 edition of the coveted Cup in Guangzhou, China.
Being the most experienced singles, Taufik is ready to lead
his younger teammates.
"I am ready for our quest, but I'm not alone as there are also
Candra and Tri," the world ranked 17 said.
"I believe Sony (Dwi Kuncoro) is also ready as the first
singles. He has achieved much. As for Simon (Santoso) and Wimpie
(Mawardi), they have to learn more lessons. For now, that's all
we have."
Taufik was fresh from winning the Asian Badminton
Championships in April in Kuala Lumpur, defeating Sony to deny
the world no. 9 shuttler a hat trick.
He was confident to play against China as he won most of his
encounters against the Chinese.
"I feel confident. But it's a team competition where China can
play either Bao Chunlai or Xia Xuanze against me... Anything
could happen," he said.
National team manager Christian Hadinata expected his team to
be ready for the big match and claimed that the squad had
anticipated every possibility.
"This is the best team we have. I believe it will be a tight
match on Monday," he said.
Men's singles coach Joko Supriyanto said Indonesia would face
a tough challenge from any opponent and, therefore, must not
choose the next contenders. "We aim to win," he added.
Chinese team manager, Li Yongbo, said it would be difficult to
win the Thomas Cup with the presence of so many strong teams.
"Unlike the Uber Cup, winning the Thomas Cup is quite
difficult as there are strong countries like Denmark, Indonesia,
Malaysia and South Korea," he said. "We, of course, want to win
the cup back."
China last won the Thomas Cup in 1990 when it defeated
Malaysia 4-1 in Tokyo.
While thousands of spectators will flock to the stadium, the
police are reportedly not planning to deploy extra officers.
"We are just helping the organizing committee's security
guards," chief of the tournament police task force, Adj. Sr.
Comr. Suprayitno told The Jakarta Post. "The deployment of some
200 officers will only take place for the semifinals and finals."