THOMAS REHEARSAL: Indonesian badminton trainer Richard Mainaky (on the bench) watches his players practice at the Cipayung badminton training camp in East Jakarta on Thursday, ahead of next month's Thomas and Uber Cups. (JP/P.J. Leo)Indonesia has been given an ideal draw in its quest to reclaim the Thomas Cup.

The country will avoid any favorites or tough teams in the early rounds of the world men's team championship, which will be held from May 11-18 at Bung Karno Sports Hall in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Drawn in Group D with minnows Germany and Thailand, the 13-time Thomas Cup champion, hoping to regain the title from China, will take on the Group B runner-up in the quarterfinals if it manages to win its group. That would likely mean a meeting with Malaysia or South Korea.

Indonesia beat Malaysia 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Thomas Cup in Senayan, but it fell to South Korea 3-2 in a group match in Japan in 2006.

If Indonesia gets past the quarterfinal stage, it could meet Denmark in the semifinals. This would be a chance for revenge for Indonesia, after having lost to Denmark 3-2 in front of the home fans at Senayan in 2006.

The ultimate goal for the Indonesian shuttlers is to make the final, which would likely mean a showdown with six-time champion China, which dominated the last two Thomas Cups in 2004 and 2006. Indonesia was humiliated by China in a 3-0 semifinal whitewash in the 2006 Thomas Cup in Japan.

China looks to be in top form, with world No. 1 Lin Dan, No. 3 Bao Chunlai and No. 4 Chen Jin in the singles, and in doubles, world No. 2 Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun and world No. 8 Guo Zhendong/Xie Zhongbo.

Entering the biennial event with a surprisingly different lineup, Indonesia will have Sony Dwi Kuncoro replace ace Taufik Hidayat as the team's first singles. The lineup also includes inexperienced junior pair Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Joko Riyadi, who would fill the shoes of the under-performing veteran duo of Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto Chandra as second doubles. The first doubles are world No. 1 Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan. The third doubles will feature a two-week long pairing of men's doubles specialist Candra Wijaya and mixed doubles specialist Nova Widianto.

Sony and Hendra/Joko will have to shoulder the load for Indonesia.

World championship runner-up Sony, who so far has failed to live up to expectations as the country's No. 1, with roller-coaster showings in recent majors, will face Thai ace Boonsak Ponsana, ranked eighth in the world, as his first test.

Tougher opponents will likely await in the quarterfinals, with either world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia or Lee Hyun-il of South Korea. In the semifinals, world No. 5 Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark could provide a difficult test for Sony, before the real test against world No. 1 Lin Dan of China.

Sony's coach, Hendrawan, said Sony needs to recover his bruised confidence after his first-round loss in the Swiss Super Series last month.

The 23-year-old reached the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, two weeks ago.

Hendra/Joko, now ranked 17 in the world, will have to beat the odds against much higher ranked pairs, either former world No. 1 Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia or world No. 10 Lee Jae-jin/Hwang Ji-man of Korea, if their quarterfinal clashes materialize.

If Indonesia advances, the pair, who have never won an international tournament, may see Danish world No. 14 Jens Eriksen/Martin Lungaard Hansen in the semifinals and world No. 8 Guo Zhendong/Xie Zhongbo of China in the final.

Only if Sony and Hendra/Joko deliver in the tournament will Indonesia have a chance of recapturing the Thomas Cup from the star-studded China.

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