RI out to keep perfect Thomas Cup record

By Arif Suryobuwono

HONG KONG (JP): Defending Thomas Cup champion Indonesia has already assured itself of a semifinal berth, but it is out to maintain a spotless record in today's last group match against England.

Indonesia's training director Iwan Setiawan said yesterday he had asked his players to sweep all five games left to play, although he warned them that England's top singles player Darren Hall might prove tough to beat.

A win will put Indonesia on top of Group A and earn it a semifinal matching with Group B runner-up. The Cup holder beat China 3-2 and Sweden 5-0 in the previous matches. Former champion China will play Sweden.

The Group B will see tougher rivalry, with Malaysia, Denmark and South Korea having the same chance to reach Friday's semifinals.

Denmark will finish first in its group if it beats Malaysia today. 1992 champion Malaysia, which lost to South Korea on Friday, needs a perfect 5-0 win to secure a semifinal berth. Winning just one game today will be worth a gold for unbeaten Denmark, provided that South Korea thrashes Hong Kong with a resounding 5-0.

Iwan said he was satisfied with the way his team had performed so far, despite the general consensus that world number one Joko Suprianto is getting weaker. "We have the advantage of having three singles players and two doubles pairs of more or less equal strength," Iwan said.

Denmark's team manager Morten Frost Hansen ominously compared Indonesia's unbeaten record to a bubble ready to burst. "Joko Suprianto is getting older. No one is afraid of him now," Frost said.

Iwan said he expected a heavy semifinal match regardless of which Danish player his team meets. "Denmark has strong singles players who can cause problems for our players," he said.

Danish top player Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen said on Sunday he believed that a win today over Malaysian ace, Rashid Sidek, would clinch his team's victory over Malaysia.

Frost said both his team and Malaysia's stood an equal chance of winning. "We want to beat Malaysia in order to make it to the top of our group, and to take on China," the former All-England champion said.

Malaysia was setting its sights too high if it believed that it could make it to the final, Frost scoffed. "Malaysia has not done anything to suggest that its three singles players can beat us."

On the other hand, Malaysia's team manager Dato Dr. Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan admitted that Denmark's three singles players were very strong. "But I believe we can offset that with our two doubles pairs and a singles player," Fadzil said.

He declined to name the singles player on whose shoulder his team's fortunes would rest. "It would be a bonus if two of our singles players win."

Fadzil said that even if Denmark were to field the world number three team of Thomas Lund and Jon Holst Christensen, Malaysia would not be daunted. "We are confident we can handle them," Fadzil said.

Malaysian coach Razif Sidek added that if his team should advance to the final, it would prefer to take on China than Indonesia.

"China's doubles pairs are weaker than Indonesia's," said Razif. The RI doubles team saved Indonesia's blushes when it narrowly beat China 3-2 in a match billed as a Thomas Cup final dress rehearsal last Friday.

Top Korean player Park Sung-woo echoed Fadzil's opinion, saying it would be more convenient for his team to take on China in the semifinals.

China's manager Li Yongbo admitted that his doubles teams, especially his second pair, were indeed weak. "But remember, our first doubles team has beaten the world's best doubles pairs: Indonesia, Malaysia and Denmark," Li said.

Meanwhile, South Korean coach Soon Han-kuk said that a 5-0 win over Hong Kong would make up for the 2-3 defeat to Denmark on Sunday.

Today's fixtures: Indonesia v England China v Sweden S. Korea v Hong Kong Malaysia v Denmark