Ten-year drought ends as Indonesia makes Uber Cup final

Musthofid ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 05/16/2008 12:39 PM  |  Headlines

RIDING HIGH: Greysia Polii, with physical trainer Jason Kurfurst of Australia, celebrates with Indonesian fans after she and doubles partner Jo Novita beat Germany’s Birgit Overzier and Kathrin Piotrowski in their Uber Cup semifinal in Jakarta on Thursday

Indonesia made the final of the women's badminton Uber Cup for the first time since 1998, after defeating Germany 3-1 at the Bung Karno Sports Hall in Jakarta on Thursday.

In the final, Indonesia will meet defending champion China, which secured its spot with a 3-1 win over South Korea. The last time the two teams met in the Uber Cup final was in Hong Kong in 1998. Indonesia arrived at that event as the two-time defending champion but was sent packing by China, and has not made a final since.

Team manager Susi Susanti attributed the success of this year's squad to their teamwork.

"The win is the fruit of collective work. I'm very proud of our Uber Cup players," Susi, a member of the winning Uber Cup teams in 1994 and 1996, said after the match.

The run to the final is beyond the team's expectations coming into the event, but it was not an easy task against Germany, which sent home the more fancied Denmark in the quarterfinals.

Indonesia got off to a bad start against Germany, as Maria Kristin lost to Xu Huaiwen, 20-22, 15-21. Adriyanti Firdasari leveled things with a 21-16, 22-20 win over Julianne Schenk. Jo Novita/Greysia Polii dominated Birgit Overzier/Kathrin Piotrowski 21-9, 21-13 to make it 2-1, before Pia Zebadiah beat Karin Schnaase 21-7, 21-16 to put Indonesia into the final.

At the end of the match, Pia, the sister of doubles specialist Markis Kido, could not hold back her tears as she paid tribute to her late father, who passed away last month.

"Initially, I did not feel in the mood to play. But I promised my father that I would give my best performance," she said.

"I'm glad that I could win the decisive rubber match. It's like the moment when I won the last point in Indonesia's victory in the SEA Games," Pia said, referring to the regional sporting event.

The Indonesian fans who packed the stadium turned silent as Maria Kristin fell to Xu. It was a disappointing showing for Maria, who had won her last two matches after getting off to a faltering start in the event.

"I tried hard but Xu was well prepared to play a better game. She has good footwork and attacks, as well as defense," she said.

Firdasari gave Indonesia a lifeline, although she had to run a tightrope in the second game. She overcome the critical situation, putting her success down to a focused physical training regime in past few weeks before the competition.

"The training helped me shape up physically. It added strength to my footwork," she said.

"I was able to play more relaxed that I did during the match against Japan. I tended to panic when I lost points," she said.

Firdasari's improved form of late will be tested when Indonesia takes on China on Saturday evening.

China, which has won the Uber Cup title 10 times compared to Indonesia's three, is the favorite to retain the championship, but Susi Susanti remains confident.

"China is not invincible. Its players are not as strong as during my time. There's nothing to fear. We shouldn't overestimate them," she said.

In the men's Thomas Cup, Indonesia will face South Korea in the semifinals on Friday. (ind)

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