TUC 2012 QF – Sayonara Indonesia!

The Indonesian Thomas Cup team crashed out of the quarter-finals after the strong Japanese haul stopped their journey somewhat prematurely. The Japanese team fought hard to beat the odds and finally overthrew one of the favourites 3-2 to enter their second consecutive Thomas Cup semi-final.

By Serla Rusli, Badzine Correspondent. Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

This is the first time in their long-standing badminton history that Indonesia is unable to have a shot in the semi-finals. The nation has never failed the Quarter Finals hurdles, appeared in 18 Finals and has lifted the Cup 13 times – the most compared to China and Malaysia, the only two other counties to have ever won the cup.

It all started well for Indonesia. Simon Santoso led the Indonesian team in securing the first point by beating the Japanese first singles Sho Sasaki, 22-20, 21-14. However, trouble started brewing when former Olympic Champions Markis Kido / Hendra Setiawan were ousted by Japanese rising stars Noriyasu Hirata / Hirokatsu Hashimoto 21-16, 21-18.

Nevertheless, it was not until the next match that Indonesia was truly in deep water. Probably one of the most upsetting defeats of the day came from Indonesian superstar shuttler Taufik Hidayat. He dropped a point for Indonesia and bowed down to Kenichi Tago in straight games 12-21, 17-21, giving Japan the 2-1 lead.

After the scratch pairing of Alvent Yulianto Chandra / Mohammad Ahsan gave Indonesia the equaliser point they so desperately needed, it was up to the youngsters Takuma Ueda (photo) and Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka (photo) to determine the fate of their nations. It took Ueda 52 minutes to keep the Japanese flag flying by beating the higher-ranked Rumbaka in 21-14, 21-19. Along with it, he crushed Indonesia’s hope in maintaining the country’s perennial record as Thomas Cup semi-finalists.

Japan will next face the homeground favourites China, who swept the handicapped Malaysian team 3-0 in the quarter-finals today.

Thailand’s First Uber Cup Semi Finals

There is always a first to many things. If Indonesia’s first ever Thomas Cup quarter-final defeat was a reason to mourn, Thai ladies have every reason to cheer. In a tricky round against Denmark in the quarter-finals, they most impressively created a name for themselves by beating the Europeans and thus stepped into their maiden Uber Cup semi-final.

They emerged as winners despite dropping their first singles point to top Danish lady shuttler Tine Baun (photo). After that, their second and third singles players, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk and Sapsiree Taerettanachai, and doubles pairing Saralee Thungthongkam / Kunchala Voravichitchaikul finished their jobs nicely and defeated Denmark in 3-1, before the eyes of Ratchanok Intanon (photo).

The Thai women are proving themselves as a force to be reckoned with in team badminton.  After finishing as runners-up in the team competition at the 2010 Asian Games, they beat three tough teams and lost only 2-3 to Japan at the Uber Cup Asian preliminaries in February this year.  But now, they will face their most arduous task next in the tournament as the mighty Chinese team awaits them at the semi-finals.

All results HERE