SUDIRMAN CUP 2011 QF – One night, two dreams shattered

The 2011 Sudirman Cup is the 12^th contest held since the event first took place in Jakarta in 1989. This year in Qingdao is the tenth time in the event that the same old flags had taken root on the soil of the semi-finals. After China and Korea pitched their bases at the campsite last night, Denmark and Indonesia both advanced through the passes and settled down to rally themselves for the battle in the following night after crashing Chinese Taipei and Japan’s hopes of starring in the Sudirman Cup semi-finals for the first time.

By Ooi Ee Lyn, Badzine Correspondent. Photos: Badmintonphoto (live).

Denmark must have been pleased to avoid China – at least until the finals if they meet – and welcomed Chinese Taipei as their sparring partner of the evening. Both teams were renowned for their strength in doubles, but Denmark stands a step higher as they are gifted with singles players who are also able to put up formidable matches against any top competitors in the world.

However, the mixed doubles opener between Denmark and Chinese Taipei was fairly much awarded to Joachim Fischer / Christinna Pedersen as Chen Hung Lin – the only spectacled warrior in world class badminton – and Cheng Wen Hsing failed to match up to the world #3 Dane pair.

The men’s singles was up next with Denmark represented by their ever-young veteran Peter Gade. No one would have expected a world #60 Hsueh Hsuan Yi (pictured right, with Peter Gade) to be able to threaten the experienced Dane by any means, but Hsueh dropped many jaws as he trembled Gade with a catch-up in the first game, taking it 22-20.

The second game started off with the Dane again under pressure, as Hsueh led 12-7. It took Gade some time to find his touch on the court, and rekindled his usual play to shoot down 10 consecutive points that left the Taiwanese trailing behind. The game eventually ended with a score of 21-15, topped up with a tie-breaker of 21-10 for the Dane.

With the semi-finals ticket awaiting at the doorstep, men’s doubles pair of Carsten Mogensen / Mathias Boe was given the decree to wring it in for Denmark. Standing in their way was world #12 Fang Chieh Min / Lee Sheng Mu (pictured left), who had scored victories in two of their five previous meetings.

Fang/Lee seemed to be unaffected by the fact that their team was straggling 0-2 at the cliff of the tie. They stormed right from the start of the game and clinched the first game 22-20.

All England champions Boe/Mogensen may have returned in the second game with a close 23-21, but the Taiwan pair – whether hungry for victory or dead-set on helping the team stay alive – tamed the Danes in the deciding game 21-18 and tied up the number of wins in the record of their meetings, moreover earning the first point for Chinese Taipei – which then become the only consolatory point for the team.

Tine devastates TAIpei’s dream

Taipei’s second women’s singles Tai Tzu Ying kept the team’s hopes alive for a moment when she hooked her first game against Tine Baun (pictured right) 21-13. The Danish heroine then perished Tai’s hope for her first win in the one week campaign and uprooted the whole of Formosa team by ending the next two games 21-16, 21-14 with a 3-1 mark at the end of the tie.

It was still a respectable performance for the Taiwan player, who will only turn 17 next month.  Tai Tzu Ying (pictured left) has already been in a Super Series final and beaten a former World Champion.  Now she has troubled one of the world’s top players with her entire team counting on her.

Japan comes in keen

The Japanese men successfully experienced their first ever semi-final in the Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur last year. This time not just the men, but also the women, looked forward to their first taste at the semi-finals in this mixed team event. As Noriyasu Hirata / Hirokatsu Hashimoto led the line-up of the day, Indonesia’s Alvent Yulianto Chandra / Mohammad Ahsan – the pair that seemed specially formed to compete in team events – came to welcome them. Besides their two previous matches this week, the last and only time the Indonesian pair showed up was in the Asia preliminary round of the Thomas Cup last year.

The Japanese who found the strange looking gift in the opening game went on to unwrap the present and found themselves fumigated by the smoke-bomb in the box. They then let the match slip away 17-21, 16-21 and called for Eriko Hirose to do the housecleaning in the following action.

Eriko then courted Japan’s first point by brushing off Adriyanti Firdasari – who had recently lost to her in India exactly a month ago – in 21-19, 17-21, 21-14, and registered her third win in four of their meetings thus far.

Tago SIMONises victory

Japan’s Kenichi Tago, well-known for his admiration for the Indonesian badminton personage Taufik Hidayat, was probably disappointed by the withdrawal of his biggest idol from the event. However, Indonesia’s second singles Simon Santoso (pictured right) have also had a clear sheet record of victories against the Japanese, though their last meeting was in the World Championships two years ago.

With the experience gained throughout the years, Tago unleashed a flawless 21-15, 21-9 display to brighten Japan’s hope by putting the team 2-1 ahead. The 21-year-old Japanese then renewed his document with his first win against the Simon Santoso.

It was a night where the ties seemed too big to be wrapped up as the cloak continuously unravelled during the most crucial moments. Just as Japan was about to set down the curtains for the night and get prepared to march into the historical moment, Indonesia’s women’s doubles set off a bomb right before the eyes of Mami Naito / Shizuka Matsuo and forced them to retreat with a 21-17, 21-16 victory by Greysia Polii / Meiliana Jauhari.

Stalemates bring jumpy moments – and intense pressure. The 2-2 dead-knot between Japan and Indonesia saw Shintaro Ikeda / Reiko Shiota and Fran Kurniawan / Pia Zebediah Bernadeth each struggling to untie the strand for their team.

Kurniawan / Bernadeth tugged the first rope 21-19 and pumped stress into not just Ikeda and Shiota but the whole Japanese team. It’s said some people deal better with stress, as seen when the second game became a cat and mouse affair that towards the end threaded into the hands of Shiota/Ikeda, who won it 25-23.

The Japanese held on till the end, and even when the Indonesians caught hold of eleven match points they had strived to create miracle, putting together a promising run of points. Finally, as the world seemed to have slowed down, the Indonesian gave a final pull at the rope and won the tug of war 21-14, closing out the battle with a 3-2 welcomed by the Indonesian team’s smiles.

Chinese Taipei and Japan failed to reach their dreams which were sprouting on the enchanting piece of land in the semi-finals. Yet, they promised to be back, better and stronger, in the Sudirman Cup two years later.

For complete results, CLICK HERE