Indonesia to meet Korea in Thomas Cup semis

Damar Harsanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 05/15/2008 1:20 AM  |  Headlines

Indonesia thrashed England 3-0 in the Thomas Cup badminton quarterfinals on Wednesday, but the inconsistent play of first singles Sony Dwi Kuncoro is a worry as the hosts prepare for a semifinals clash with a tough South Korean team.

Sony beat world No. 31 Andrew Smith, but only after the world No. 6 dropped the first game amid a flurry of unforced errors on critical points. The Indonesian won the second game by a whisker before eventually raising the level of his play to take the third game and the match.

It took Sony 58 minutes to win the match 23-25, 21-19, 21-5 in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Bung Karno Sports Hall in Central Jakarta.

"I felt nervous in the first game and wasted many chances. I tried to up the tempo in the second game and tried to play safe to win it. In the third, I became more confident," Sony said during a post-match press conference.

"I think I have to raise my fighting spirit for the semifinals and final because my opponents will be much stronger," said the 24-year-old.

Doubles Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan enjoyed an easy 21-12, 21-10 win in 24 minutes over the English duo of Robert Adcock and Robin Middleton to give Indonesia a 2-0 lead.

"We played with more composure today compared to our previous matches. We are tuned in," said Kido.

"Hopefully, we can keep improving our performance in the semifinals since there will be tougher opponents ahead," Hendra said.

Second singles Taufik Hidayat clinched a semifinal berth for Indonesia by brushing aside Rajiv Ouseph 21-17, 21-16 in 37 minutes.

"I feel grateful that Indonesia was able to win 3-0 as predicted by many people," said 27-year-old Taufik, who is an Olympic gold medalist.

Asked about Indonesia's chances against South Korea, who came back from two matches down to beat Denmark 3-2 in the quarters, Taufik said, "I don't want to comment yet. We will meet with coaches to discuss what tactics we will use."

Coach Indra Gunawan said Indonesia could expect a tough match against Korea.

"Korean players are in top form, both singles and doubles," he said.

Korea was 0-2 down before fighting back to win the next three games against Denmark in a dramatic quarterfinal clash.

Peter Gade replaced Kenneth Jonnasen as Denmark's first singles after Jonnasen was sidelined by a last-minute injury. Gade got past South Korean ace Park Sung Hwan in a tough 24-26, 22-20, 21-19 victory.

Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen defeated All England champions Jung Jae Sung and Lee Young Dae 21-18, 10-21, 21-19 in the doubles to extend the lead to 2-0.

Danish second singles Joachim Persson fell to Lee Hyun Il, marking the beginning of the collapse for the European powerhouse.

Korean second doubles Lee Jae Jin and Hwang Ji Man leveled things with a 21-19, 21-18 win over Danish duo Mathias Boe of Carsten Mogensen.

Korea snatched the decider and advanced to the semifinals as Shon Seung Mo tamed Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen 21-11, 21-9. (ind)

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