Indonesia out of Thomas Cup

Musthofid ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 05/17/2008 11:15 AM  |  Headlines

DOWN AND OUT: Indonesian supporters show their disappointment Friday after the home side crashed out against South Korea in the semifinals of the men's badminton Thomas Cup at Bung Karno stadium, Jakarta. (JP/R. Berto Widhatama)

South Korea advanced to the final of the Thomas Cup for the first time as Indonesia's hopes for the trophy they last won in 2002 crumbled Friday.

The Koreans beat the home team 3-0 in front of 8,500 spectators at a packed Bung Karno Sports Hall in Jakarta.

Korea's last semifinal appearance in the men's badminton championship ended in defeat at the hands of China in 2004 in Jakarta. They now have the chance of making amends as they prepare to face China in this year's final. China, the defending champion, narrowly beat Malaysia in a 3-2 thriller earlier Friday.

Whatever the result against China, Korea can celebrate their success over Indonesia. The team members, whose shouts were drowned by the raucous home fans during the matches, promptly ran onto the court to cheer the victorious Lee Hyun-il after he clinched the match.

"I'm very happy we made it to the final. This result turned out as we expected," Korean head coach Kim Joong-su said.

Kim said he looked forward to Sunday's final because it was the perfect chance for his team to prove their worth.

"China is the best team in the world. The match will surely be very hard. We are going to the final as underdogs," he said.

Kim said the team would try to maximize on the doubles games.

While Korea looked ahead, Indonesia will look back to find where they had gone wrong. They lost in a whitewash, probably not the way their adoring fans would have wanted.

While the Korean team was ecstatic in celebration, the home team and supporters, who were beginning to leave the stadium when Taufik Hidayat was suffering toward the end of the second game against Lee, fell in silence.

Taufik, who played awkwardly throughout the match, stood still on the courtside at the end of the match. Some officials tried to console him, but Taufik, who lost 13-21, 14-21, could not hide his disappointment.

"I apologize to Indonesia for the loss. I deeply regret it. We tried hard but we failed. Nobody wants to fail. I hope we are not blaming each other," Taufik said.

He said he was willing to shoulder the responsibility for the defeat.

"I don't have any excuse for losing. A loss is a loss. I believe this was the best lineup of players for the tournament, with myself as the second singles player," he said.

Taufik said he expected another player to replace him on the national team. He admitted to feeling the strain of the psychological burden ahead of the match.

"But I'm proud of the spectators who kept supporting us even though we were losing," he said.

Indonesia's troubles began when Sony Dwi Kuncoro lost to Park Sung-hwan in the opening match. Sony looked nervous, committing a flurry of unforced errors, especially in the third game.

Park, who was crowned Asian champion last month, won the third game 21-18 to give Korea the opening lead. The first two games were split at 21-12, 12-21.

Markis Kido also said he was nervous as he and doubles partner Hendra Setiawan lost to an in-form Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae. The first two games were split before the Koreans, with three Super Series titles under their belt, closed out the third game to win the match 21-19, 18-21, 21-10.

Indonesia is still hopeful of a championship when the women's team takes on China in the finalof the Uber Cup on Saturday. (ind)

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