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