Jakarta. Indonesia is ready to replicate the historic achievement of 30 years ago, as it competes to win the championship of the men’s and women’s national badminton teams in the finals this evening.
The odds look good, as on the only two previous occasions when two Indonesian teams reached the final together in the same year, they won.
In the 1994 final held in Jakarta, Indonesia secured their ninth Thomas Cup trophy by defeating Malaysia 3-0, and simultaneously won their second Uber Cup title by defeating China 3-2.
Two years later, in Hong Kong, Indonesia defended two titles with the men’s team beating Denmark and the women’s team winning against China.
The historical trend dates back to 1975 when Indonesian women’s athletes claimed the inaugural victory of the Uber Cup while the men were the defending champions of the Thomas Cup. In those days, the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup tournaments were held on alternate years.
However, host nation China gave Indonesia a big challenge in the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals on Sunday.
The Indonesian men’s team aims to hold the record as the most successful team in the history of the Thomas Cup, with 14 trophies, ahead of China with 10 titles. Despite China’s home advantage at Chengdu’s Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium, Indonesia can count on strong support from dedicated fans.
Indonesian badminton fans were more than happy, as the women’s national team secured a place in the Uber Cup final after a 3-2 win over South Korea in the semi-finals on Saturday. Once again, Indonesia will face China in the Uber Cup final.
Contrasting semi-finals
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie maintained their top-level performance after becoming All England men’s singles finalists a few weeks ago and contributed two points to their unbeaten team in the semi-finals. In between, Indonesia’s top men’s doubles team Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto won the rubber set against Chinese Taipei’s Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang.
With a 3-0 lead by Indonesia, two more matches are unnecessary.
In more dramatic fashion during the day, the women’s team won all three singles matches but lost two doubles matches to the South Korean team.
Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi won 17-21, 21-16, 21-19 in one hour and 9 minutes. Komang fell to the ground in relief and exhaustion as his teammates ran onto the field in celebration.
No member of the squad has reached the final of the Uber Cup before. Komang was just five years old when the Indonesian Uber Cup team reached the last final and was defeated by China 3-0 in 2008.
China is the dominant team in the Uber Cup with 15 titles, with nearest rivals Japan having just six. Indonesia and the United States shared the sport three times with three trophies each.
For the Indonesian Thomas Cup team, this is their third consecutive finals appearance, with one win and one loss in the previous edition.
Jonatan Christie, thinking about the upcoming finals, was surprised by the team’s progress and praised the incredible journey of the Uber team to the finals, especially with the young squad.
“Sunday’s final will be our fourth appearance, which is unexpected because of the difference in our current squad compared to previous editions,” Jonatan said. “It is also incredible that both of our teams will be competing in the final. The Uber team has shown incredible passion, especially with such a young squad,” he said.
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