Danes, Indonesia in final
Published on: Saturday, May 21, 2016
KUNSHAN: Malaysia's hopes of reaching the 2016 Thomas Cup final were dashed Friday after losing 2-3 to tournament second seeds Denmark in the semi-final at the Kunshan Sports Centre.It had seemed that Malaysia would cruise into the final and a showdown against Indonesia after Datuk Lee Chong Wei and doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong had given them a 2-0 lead.Chong Wei was forced to dig deep in the opening singles match against a spirited Viktor Axelsen before prevailing 23-21, 21-18 in a match which lasted 54 minutes.
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Goh/Tan then put Malaysia 2-0 up by defeating Mathias Boe-Mads Conrad-Petersen 21-18, 21-18 in 47 minutes.Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin had a great chance to seal the tie as he led 6-1 in the first game of his singles match against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus but the Dane regrouped and pegged the score to 14-14 before winning the game 21-18. The fightback seemed to fire up the Dane as he began to play more aggressively in the second game, racing to an 11-5 lead and eventually won 21-18 to reduce the deficit.Second doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong began their match against Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen with intent looking for the winning point that would put Malaysia into the final.
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It took the Malaysian pair just 15 minutes to take the first game 21-10. However, the Danes roared back in the second winning 21-8 to force a rubber.Tan/Koo could not regain their momentum in the deciding set going down 13-21 as the Danes levelled the tie 2-2.
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It was left to third singles Chong Wei Feng to deliver the winning point but it was Emil Holst who emerged the hero for Denmark winning 21-15, 21-18 in 50 minutes to set up a showdown against Indonesia in Sunday's final.Earlier Indonesia beat South Korea 3-1 on Friday to reach the final and raise hopes of their first victory in 14 years in a competition they once dominated.Indonesia, who have won the men's team tournament a record 13 times, proved too strong for South Korea, who stunned hosts China a day earlier.Son Wan-ho, who beat world number one Chen Long in a pulsating quarter-final, glided past Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-10, 21-16 to put South Korea ahead.But Indonesia rallied in the following match, with Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan securing a 21-15, 21-12 win over Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong.Anthony Ginting put South Korea on the brink with a 21-18, 21-18 victory over Lee Dong-Keun before doubles pair Angga Pratama and Ricky Karanda Suwardi beat Kim Gi-jung and Kim Sa-rang 21-15, 21-18. "We have good doubles and good singles, so why not?" said Ginting, when asked if Indonesia had a chance of winning the final. Indonesia will contest their first Thomas Cup final since 2010.In the women's Uber Cup competition, Olympic champion Li Xuerui led China into the final as she won a hard-fought three-gamer against India's Saina Nehwal.The world number three struggled to her find her groove but eventually established a rhythm, prevailing 21-15, 12-21, 21-17 against the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist. Wang Shixian snuffed out a late, second-game surge from India's Pusarla V. Sindhu to win 21-13, 23-21 before doubles duo Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei clinched the tie 21-6, 21-6 against Jwala Gutta and Nelakurihi Sikki Reddy. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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