THOMAS CUP 2014 Day 2 – Allez la France!

The last tie of the second day of the Thomas Cup saw the biggest upset so far when France beat Chinese Taipei 3-2.

By Raphael Sachetat, live in Delhi. Photos: Badmintonphoto

After the bad experience the previous day from their women’s squad against England, Chinese Taipei had lined up their best team to play against Team France, which was participating for the first time in its history in the Thomas Cup Finals.

And the French, led by a determined Brice Leverdez (photo) took almost 5 hours to beat the top seeds of the group. Leverdez won 21-19 in the decider against Chou Tien Chen. Lucas Corvée was then just short of edging Hsu Jen Hao, but the latter prevailed and put both teams back to square.

After the loss of the second doubles, France had a last chance to come back, with Thomas Rouxel and the duo of Leverdez and Corvée, this time as partners on court.

In a suspenseful match, Rouxel edged Hsieh 21-19 in the decider. It was then a tie at 2-2, with formidable Lee and Tsai, world #5, taking on the pair of Leverdez/Corvée, some 50 spots further down the world ranking list. But the French were on fire and played perfectly in the first and third games, giving no option to their opponents of the day, playing a “Danish” game style with an emphasis on the first few strokes, playing at net level, and avoiding lifting the shuttle at all times. It worked wonders and the French won 21-14, 13-21, 21-14.

They will have to beat Russia on Tuesday evening in order to qualify for the quarter-finals, as Chinese Taipei had beaten the Russians. Chinese Taipei will face China on Tuesday but no longer have their faith in their own hands as France could be the party spoiler should they beat Ivanov and his compatriots.

Elsewhere, no major upsets occurred for this second day of the event. India secured a good win over Malaysia in the Uber Cup – 4-1 with Saina Nehwal (photo) as flag-bearer, while the Danish ladies enjoyed a 3-2 success over Malaysia in spite of the loss of their third singles Sandra Maria Jensen (photo). On their end, Lee Chong Wei and his compatriots beat the Germans 4-1 but were put under some pressure in most of the matches.

China had an easy round in both the Thomas and Uber Cup with 5-0 wins in both events, while Korea’s Thomas Cup team was happy to be able to count on their men’s doubles as the finalists of the last edition won 3-2 against inspired Indians.

Click here for complete Day 2 results