RI Uber Cuppers keen to break the jinx against Korean team
RI Uber Cuppers keen to break the jinx against Korean team
JAKARTA (JP): With the Thomas Cup title within reach,
Indonesia is keen to break the jinx in the women's Uber Cup
semifinal match against South Korea today.
Indonesia has never gone beyond the semifinals in the three
previous women's badminton team championships. Led by All England
champion Susi Susanti, Indonesia bowed out to spirited South
Korea 1-4 in 1992.
Now, playing before their emotion-charged home fans, Susi and
company reach the final four undefeated in their three round-
robin matches, moving to the top of Group B. The South Korean
favorites only managed a second place finish behind title holder
China, who they lost to 3-2 in Saturday's preliminary round
battle.
It seems to be a premature encounter which is pitting
Indonesia against South Korea, the two top seeds this year.
However, but team manager Lutfi Hamid stressed that his team was
out to take the South Koreans.
Lutfi admitted that South Korea possessed better doubles
players, but he was confident he still held a trump card. "We may
reshuffle our doubles team to snatch at least a win in the
doubles matches," he said.
Indonesia's world number two pair Finarsih and Lili Tampi
carry a 1-4 record against South Korean world champions Chung So-
young and Gil Young-ah. But the latter dropped a set twice in
their previous Cup Group A matches against their Japanese and
Russian counterparts.
Susi felt confident that she would be able to stretch her
winning tally over Bang to 10, but said Indonesia has an equal
chance of winning today's semifinals as South Korea does. Susi,
who will likely to meet Bang in the first singles match, conceded
only two defeats to the South Korean.
"My win will serve as a morale booster for my teammates to
beat South Korea," she said.
South Korean team manager, Kim Joong-soo, wanted to keep a low
profile, saying that his side would face a tough battle against
the host team. "Apart from the first singles, South Korea has a
good chance of winning the other four matches," he said.
Kim also said he had asked the South Korean embassy to
mobilize its 1,000 countrymen here to support their team. South
Korea plays Indonesia in both championship events, with the men's
team tackling the hosts tomorrow.
Thomas Cup
The Indonesian men's shuttlers will enjoy an easier passage
than the women's team in their championship campaign. Barring
unforeseen circumstances, Joko Suprianto and teammates will make
it through the final by defeating South Korea tomorrow.
"We'd rather face South Korea instead of Denmark in the final
four," said Indonesian coach Indra Gunawan. He assumed that first
singles Kim Hak-kyun would be the only one to threaten his all-
stars side.
"I'm not saying that South Korea cannot match our shuttlers,
who are improving with every match, but I feel that a full
Denmark team will be a stiffer challenge," Indra said. He added
that he hoped to see another 5-0 victory.
Indra indicated that Indonesia will have its best shuttlers in
tomorrow's semifinals.
Meanwhile, Malaysian coach Yang Yang said Rashid Sidek and his
teammates had a better chance of reaching the final than their
Chinese opponents. "We will bank on our experiences to overcome
the new faces in China's lineup," Yang Yang, formerly China's
Thomas Cup hero, said. The Thomas Cup title holder meets China
today. (amd)
Today's matches (beginning at 7:30 p.m.):
Uber Cup : Indonesia v S. Korea
Thomas Cup: Malaysia v China
Tomorrow's programs (time to be announced):
Uber Cup : China v Sweden
Thomas Cup: Indonesia v S. Korea