Indonesia edges past Thailand

Damar Harsanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 05/12/2008 10:51 AM  |  Sports

UBER HAPPY: Indonesian doubles partners Lilyana Natsir and Vita Marissa celebrate their 9-21, 21-19, 21-14 victory over Japan’s Satoko Suetsuna and Miyuki Maeda in their Group Z match at the Uber Cup in Jakarta on Sunday.

Indonesia edged past Thailand 3-2 on the first day of the Thomas Cup men's team badminton competition at Bung Karno Sports Hall in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Sunday despite top singles Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Taufik Hidayat dropping their matches.

World No. 6 Sony fell to Thai ace Boonsak Ponsana 21-17, 21-15, while world No. 7 Taufik Hidayat succumbed to little-known Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 23-21, 21-18.

"I don't want to make any excuses. The fact is that I lost because Boonsak (Ponsana) played better," the 24-year-old Sony said after the match.

"I didn't play that bad. He (Ponsana) just dictated my play and made few errors. He had good placement of the shuttlecock," the 2007 world championship runner-up said.

Sony said he lost concentration during the second game.

The Indonesian still has a 4-2 advantage in head-to-head matches with the Thai star. In their last meeting, at the Hong Kong Super Series in December last year, Sony defeated Ponsana.

Taufik said of his match, "Losing is normal in a tournament like this ... I was not lucky today."

"He played more patiently and he played better," the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2005 world champion said of the Thai world No. 84.

"Remember that we're playing as a team. We still have a chance since other team members are still playing," said the 27-year-old.

The losses by Sony and Taufik cast a shadow over the host's target of winning the Thomas Cup, already a tough task against badminton heavyweights like China, Denmark and Malaysia.

China silenced minnow Nigeria 5-0 on Sunday, Malaysia crushed England 5-0 and Denmark also enjoyed a 5-0 whitewash over New Zealand.

While the singles players were struggling, Indonesia's top doubles team of Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan and second doubles Joko Riyadi/Hendra Apridai Gunawan were able to grab points for Indonesia.

World champions Kido/Hendra lived up their top billing, thrashing the Thai duo of Tesana Panvisavas/Nuttaphon Narkthong 21-11, 21-16.

"Sony's loss did not hurt our morale. We keep struggling to get a point for our team," Markis said after the match.

The young duo of Joko/Hendra got past Sudket Prapakamol/Songphon Anugritayawon 17-21, 21-8, 21-12 to level the score at 2-2.

Third singles Simon Santoso saved the home side from an embarrassing loss to Thailand with a commanding 21-11, 21-9 win over Pakkawat Vilailak, putting the final tally at 3-2 and giving Indonesia a winning, if shaky, start to its Thomas Cup campaign. (ind)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.