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Former world doubles champion Markis Kido is a picture of dejection in the doubles match against Japan
Wuhan: Former champions Indonesia were shown the door in the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup as the biennial championships showed the winds of change that badminton is experiencing. Defending champions China, however, marched on serenely into the semifinals of both the Thomas and Uber Cup.
In the men’s competition, former powerhouses Indonesia were beaten by Japan – a team more famous for its strength in the women’s segment. Another former champion, Malaysia, were expectedly blanked by China.
Another powerhouse to suffer a reverse was Denmark, which was beaten by Thailand in the Uber Cup. Denmark’s men, however, managed to beat Russia 3-0.
In the last two ties of the Uber Cup quarterfinals, Indonesia’s women showed surprising tenacity against a strong Japanese squad, taking their tie to the fifth rubber after finding themselves 0-2 down, but they were eventually beaten. In the most thrilling tie of the day, Chinese Taipei went ahead 2-1 against defending champions Korea in the Uber Cup, but the Koreans were able to hold them off by winning the last two matches. Hwang Hye Youn won a superb match over Shih Han Hung 21-18 25-23 to help the defending champions into the semifinals.
Amidst all this, China’s men and women seemed unwavering in their quest as they marched on without losing a match. While the men whipped a Lee Chong Wei-less Malaysia 3-0, their women did the same to a Germany minus their best player Juliane Schenk.
The biggest upset of the day, if it could be called that, was Japan’s result over Indonesia in the Thomas Cup. Simon Santoso had put the Indonesians ahead with a win over fellow-top ten player Sho Sasaki, but his teammates folded. Veterans Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan couldn’t match Noriyasu Hirata/ Hirokatsu Hashimoto; Taufik Hidayat had one of his bad days as he went down to Kenichi Tago. Although Indonesia’s second doubles pair brought them on level terms, Takuma Ueda sealed things for Japan by beating Dionysius Rumbaka 21-14 21-19.
Denmark’s women disappointed against Thailand. Tine Baun gave them the perfect start by beating three-time world junior champion Ratchanok Intanon, but the Thais won the next three matches to seal their place in the semifinals.
Semifinal match-ups:
Thomas Cup: China vs Japan; Denmark vs Korea
Uber Cup: China vs Thailand; Korea vs Japan
