THOMAS CUP UPDATE: CAI YUN-HAIFENG WIN CHINA’S SECOND POINT IN THREE-SET THRILLER

KUALA LUMPUR (16 May 2010) - Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng grabbed the second point for China in a three-set thrilling win over Indonesia’s Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan which lasted over an hour.
Cai Yun-Haifeng, all pumped up from Lin Dan’s fabulous win in the first singles, took to the court strongly with a 5-0 lead before Markis-Hendra fought point for point in the closing stages of the first set.
But the Chinese pair were not to be denied as they won the first set 25-23 in 23 minutes as Markis and Hendra had little choice but to take the second set.
And win they did as even though Cai Yun-Haifeng came up to draw 4-4 at one point, Markis-Hendra never looked back to win 21-16 in 17 minutes.
But the third set was all China when they took the first point and never allowed the Indonesians the chance of a comeback to win the third set 21-12 in 18 minutes for China’s second point in the final.
The third single will see Chen Jin playing Simon Santoso next.

THOMAS CUP UPDATE: LIN DAN OVERPOWERS TAUFIK FOR FIRST POINT

KUALA LUMPUR (16 May 2010) - Lin Dan won the first point for China in an uncompromising fashion when he overpowered Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat in 43 minutes in the first singles.
The Chinese No. 1, who had dumped world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia just two days earlier, was again in his mettle when he raced to a quick 5-0 lead before taking the first set 21-7 in 17 minutes.
Taufik tried to get back into contention with a stronger start in the second set by picking up the first few points.
But Lin Dan’s superb net play was just too formidable to resist as he then stepped up a gear to take a 14-12 lead as he then never looked back to win the set 21-14 in 26 minutes for China’s first point.
Next up will be the first doubles with China banking on Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng to win their second point against Indonesia’s Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan.

OFFICIAL SITE RECORD HITS OF MORE THAN 10 MILLION

KUALA LUMPUR (15 May 2010) - The more than 10 million hits recorded by the Thomas Cup/ Uber Cup official website at www.thomasuberkl2010.com has forced the site operators to shut the site down for several hours this morning.

For the Thomas Cup/ Uber Cup, a 120GB of space were created but following the overwhelming response from badminton fans over the past week, it resulted in an overload that the site just could not handle.

Kenny Goh, the acting secretary general of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), was well pleased with the response to the site from fans around the world as it reflected Malaysia’s capable hosting of what is in effect the badminton World Cup.

“I believe that the enormous response from the fans is a result of the hardwork of all involved as the site is always updated with the latest, fresh news,” added Kenny.

“The picture galleries and also the stories complement the work of the media all over the world and the site has proven to be priceless not only to badminton fans.”

Added the official website operator: “this has never happened before. We’ve done the World Championships and also the Malaysian Open before and we have never experienced this kind of response. It has been enormous.”

The shutdown enabled the site operator to add a further 120GB of space to make sure that fans and enthusiasts will not miss the finals of the Uber Cup today and also the Thomas Cup tomorrow.

IT WAS NOT MY GAME: CHONG WEI

KUALA LUMPUR (14 MAY 2010) – World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei who had gone 18 matches without a loss this year came unstuck against three-time world champions Lin Dan of China in the first singles in the Thomas Cup semi-final before a packed Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.
"It was not my game. The whole match was disappointing," said Chong Wei afterwards.
China handed Malaysia a 3-0 beating to book their place in the final against Indonesia, who had earlier beaten Japan also by a similar scoreline.
Chong Wei, winner of the Korean Open, the Malaysian Open and the All-England was beaten by a pumped up Lin Dan who had a lean spell this year until he won the Asian Championships in New Delhi prior to his arrival into Kuala Lumpur.
The Chinese ace then celebrated his victory over Chong Wei by taking off his shirt and throwing it on the court before rasing his hands and racquet to acknowledge his triumph in the much awaited match between the two.
When asked at a press conference afterwards the reason why he took off his shirt after securing the winning point Lin Dan said: "in 2004 when I beat Peter Gade (Christensen) to win the first point for China in the final against Denmark in Jakarta, I celebrated that win in a similar fashion. It was no different today.
“I played very well today and taking the first point for my team was a morale booster. It is always important to win the first point.
Lin Dan, however, said Malaysia paid the price of putting too much pressure on themselves in wanting to end an eighteen year wait to win back the Thomas Cup.
“They (Malaysia) put themselves under tremendous pressure thinking of the 18-year wait. Chong Wei was under pressure to get the first point and crumbled easily.
Chong Wei himself admitted that he 'thought too much in wanting to win the Thomas Cup' and lost focus in the game.
“The court looked small to me and I did not know where to hit the shuttle. Nothing went right. I fumbled with the half court returns,” said Chong Wei, who was expected to take the first point for Malaysia.
China then rode on Lin Dan’s smashing win to take the first doubles through their veteran pair Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng who displayed all round superiority to whip World No 1 and Malaysia’s top pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong 21-15, 21-10 in 36 minutes.
And Wong Choong Hann was totally out-played by 2008 All England champion Chen Jin 21-16, 21-7 in 41 minutes to land China’s third and winning point.
China’s chief coach Li Yongbo said: "anything was possible It could have been 3-0 or 3-2. It did matter as we were ready for the challenge. My players were fully focused on winning the match."
"The Malaysians gave their best but crumbled under tremendous pressure. The Malaysian supporters also put us under lot of pressure but we were experienced enough to handle such situations.
“If you cannot handle such pressure in a big tournament, even home advantage can back fire on you. That is what happened to Malaysia,” said Yongbo.

THOMAS CUP UPDATE: CHINA WHITEWASH MALAYSIA TO TAKE ON INDONESIA IN FINAL

KUALA LUMPUR (14 May 2010) - China made it their fourth Thomas Cup final in a row when they whitewash hosts Malaysia 3-0 to set-up a final clash against Indonesia in two days.
Lin Dan overpowered world and Malaysia No. 1 Lee Chong Wei 21-17, 21-8 for the first point before the first Chinese doubles of Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng won the second point after beating Koo Kean Keat-Tan Boon Heong 21-15, 21-10.
Chen Jin, playing in the second singles, gave Malaysian veteran Wong Choong Hann no chance of a Malaysian fight back when he won the first set 21-16 in 24 minutes.
He then stepped on the gas in the second set with a convincing 21-7 win 17 minutes to wrap up the third and unassailable point for the Chinese.

THOMAS CUP UPDATE: CAI YUN-FU HAIFENG PUT CHINA 2-0 IN FRONT

KUALA LUMPUR (14 May 2010) - Cai Yun-Yu Haifeng put China 2-0 in front in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup when they beat the Malaysian pair of Koo Kean Keat-Tan Boon Heong 21-15, 21-10.

Following Lin Dan’s win over Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in the first singles earlier, the first Chinese pair had little difficulty against the world’s No. 1 when they wrapped up the first set in under 20 minutes before winning the point.

China will be looking to wrap things up with the second singles when Chen Jin face Malaysian veteran Wong Choong Han next.

THOMAS CUP UPDATE: LIN DAN BEATS CHONG WEI FOR CHINA’S FIRST POINT

KUALA LUMPUR (14 May 2010) - Lin Dan gave China their first point when he defeated Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in the semi-finals of the PROTON-BWF Thomas Cup at the Putra Stadium here tonight.

The Chinese Olympic champion capitalised on world No. 1 Chong Wei's mistakes and grabbed the first set 21-17.

Chong Wei tried to work his way back in the second set but Lin Dan was on a roll and never allowed his opponent any room. He won the set 21-8 in 48 minutes to give China the lead.

THOMAS CUP: LINE-UPS FOR CHINA-MALAYSIA SEMI-FINALS

Men's Singles: Lin Dan vs Lee Chong Wei
Men's Doubles: Yun Cai-Haifeng Fu vs Koo Kean Keat-Tan Boon Heong
Men's Singles: Chen Jin vs Wong Choong Han
Men's Doubles: Xu Chen-Zhendong Guo vs Mohd Zakry Latif-Hoon Thien How
Men's Singles: Bao Chunlai vs Mohd Hafiz Hashim

THOMAS CUP UPDATE: NOVA-ALVENT PUT INDONESIA IN FINAL

KUALA LUMPUR (14 May 2010) - The second doubles pair of Nova Widianto-Alvent Chandra put Indonesia in their first Thomas Cup final since 2002 when they beat the Japanese pair of Noriyasu Hirata-Hiroyuki Endo 21-14, 22-20.
The overall score before the start of the match was 2-1 to the advantage of Indonesia thanks to victories from Taufik Hidayat in the first singles and Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan in the first doubles.
And while Sho Sasaki pulled one back and gave Japan their first point in the semi-finals this afternoon when he overcame Simon Santoso in the second singles, there was just no way Japan could fight back in the second doubles.
Nova-Alvent won the first set 21-14 in 12 minutes before Noriyasu-Hiroyuki’s attempt of a comeback in the second set was snuffed out with a close 20-22 defeat.
Indonesia booked their place in the final on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Japan in the semi-finals.

SIMON READY TO END JINX

KUALA LUMPUR (MAY 13, 2010): Simon Santoso is ready to end his Thomas Cup jinx when Indonesia face Japan in tomorrow's Thomas Cup semifinals

In three previous attempts, the 24-year-old shuttler has never gone past the semi-final stage, yet, he believes 2010 could be the year he changes that.

"I have yet to lift the Thomas Cup and I'm determined to make it happen this year," said Simon, who made his debut at the 2004 Jakarta Thomas Cup.

"Even though Indonesia hosted the event in 2004 and 2008, I have yet to experience playing in the final. I hope to change that this year."

Simon may also take on a new role as the second singles player as there are doubts surrounding the fitness of Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

Having played third fiddle to Taufik Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro in all his campaigns, Simon suddenly finds himself thrust into the limelight as Sony has a bad back and made not play in Friday's semi-finals.

If Sony is not fielded, Simon will play either Sho Sasaki or Dieter Domke in the semi-finals and he said Indonesia can count on him to give them a point.

"My confidence is sky high right now so I don't mind facing anyone. In fact, I have been preparing myself to play as the second singles in some matches so it is no big deal," said the eligible bachelor.

"I have never played in a Thomas Cup final and this represents my best chance. I'm not underestimating anybody but apart from China, there rest of the field is quite even.

"I hope to continue my winning ways and the Indonesian fans need not worry about me. I have the confidence in my ability to deliver a point. Hopefully, it will be enough for us to win the tie."

Simon today played his role to perfection as he defeated Arvind Bhatt 21-8, 21 -10 at Putra Stadium to help Indonesia to a 3-0 win over India.

Taufik struggled against Kashyap Parupalli before winning 21-12, 10-21, 21-17, while Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan outplayed Sanave Thomas-Akshay Dewalkar 21- 16, 21-17.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Uber Cup team also made it to the final four after ending Malaysia's hopes of a first ever semi-final appearance with an easy3-0 victory.

Malaysia, who had stunned the Indonesians to win the SEA Games gold last December, were expected to give a tougher fight but wilted under pressure.

Adriyanti Firdasari easily defeated Wong Mew Choo 21-9, 21-16 to give Indonesia the lead and once Greysia Polii-Meilani Jauhari sneaked passed Wong Pei Tty- Chian Eei Hui 26-24, 21-18 there was no doubting an Indonesian victory. Maria Kristin Yulianti sealed the tie after beating a gutsy Tee Jing Yee 21-19, 21- 16.

Simon Pastikan INA ke Semifinal

KUALA LUMPUR - Simon Santoso menjadi kunci keberhasilan Tim Thomas Indonesia melaju ke semifinal Thomas & Uber Cup 2010. Tampil sebagai pemain ketiga, Simon mengantar Merah Putih unggul 3-0 atas India di perempat final.


Bermain di Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rabu (12/5/2010), Simon berhasil menundukkan Arvind Bhatt, dua set langsung 21-8 dan 21-10. Simon memberikan angka ketiga, setelah sebelumnya Indonesia unggul 2-0 melalui Taufik Hidayat serta pasangan Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan.


Simon yang biasanya tampil sebagai pemain terakhir (kelima), kali ini dipasang sebagai pemain ketiga, menggantikan tampat Sony Dwi Kuncoro yang masih bermasalah dengan cedera punggung. Tak ingin menyia-nyiakan kepercayaan yang diberikan tim, Simon tampil luar biasa meladei perlawanan Arvind Bhatt yang memaksa Sony menyerah (WO) pada laga kedua babak penyisihan Grup.


Di set pertama, Simon langsung tancap gas dan tidak banyak memberi angin bagi Bhatt untuk mengembangkan permainan. Simon akhirnya mampu menyegel set pertama dengan skor cukup menyakinkan 21-8.


Pemandangan di set kedua kembali tak jauh berneda. Simon tetap memegang penuh jalannya laga, meski kali ini Bhatt lumayan memberikan perlawanan sepadan. Sayang, usaha Bhatt akhirnya sia-sia setelah Simon berhasil memenangi set kedua dengan skor 21-10.

Thomas Cup : Cina Libas Korea 3-0

KUALALUMPUR - Dalam pertandingan perempatfinal Piala Thomas yang berlangsung hari ini, Korea tidak berdaya menghadapi kekuatan tim unggulan pertama, Cina dan menyerah langsung 0-3. Lin Dan yang tampil sebagai tunggal pertama berhasil mengalahkan Park Sung Hwan dengan skor 21-16 21-15. Ganda pertama Cina, Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng juga berhasil memetik kemenangan atas ganda Korea, Jung Jae Sung/Shin Baek Cheol 21-11 21-16 sekaligus membuat Cina unggul 2-0 atas Korea. Chen Jin berhasil memastikan langkah Cina ke semifinal setelah mengandaskan perlawanan Shon Wan Ho dalam straight-game 21-15 21-12.

Tim Thomas dan Uber Indonesia Pastikan Tiket Semifinal

KUALALUMPUR - Tim Thomas dan Uber Indonesia sama-sama meraih kemenangan langsung 3-0 atas lawan-lawannya dalam babak perempatfinal yang diselenggarakan di Putra Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.


Berikut Hasil Selengkapnya :
PIALA THOMAS : India vs Indonesia 0-3
Kashyap Parupalli - Taufik Hidayat 12-21 21-10 17-21
Sanave Thomas/Akshay Dewalkar - Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan 16-21 17-21
Arvind Bhat - Simon Santoso 8-21 10-21


PIALA UBER : Indonesia vs Malaysia 3-0
Adriyanti Firdasari - Wong Mew Choo 21-9 21-16
Greysia Polii/Meiliana Jauhari - Wong Pei Tty/Chin Eei Hui 26-24 21-18
Maria Kristin Yulianti - Tee Jing Yee 21-19 21-16

Piala Thomas : India Amankan Tiket Perempatfinal

KUALALUMPUR - India dalam pertandingan keduanya di penyisihan Grup D Piala Thomas berhasil mengalahkan Australia 4-1. Hasil ini sekaligus memastikan India lolos ke babak perempatfinal. India hanya kehilangan satu angka di nomor ganda putra, setelah ganda Australia, Glenn Warfe/Ross Smith berhasil mengungguli pasangan India, Sanave Thomas/Rupesh Kumar 22-20 21-18.

PROTON-BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2010 Finals

Daftar Tim Thomas yang lolos ke babak perempat final
Grup A : China & Korea Republic
Grup B : Malaysia & Japan
Grup C : Denmark & Germany
Grup D : Indonesia & Australia


Daftar Tim Uber yang lolos ke babak perempat final
Grup A : China & Malaysia
Grup B : Indonesia & Denmark
Grup C : Japan & Russia
Grup D : Korea Republic & India

Thomas Cup : Indonesia Juara Grup D, Peru tersingkir

KUALALUMPUR - Indonesia meraih kemenangan keduanya dalam penyisihan Thomas Cup Grup D dengan mengalahkan India dengan skor 4-1. Di pertandingan lainnya, Peru dipastikan tersingkir lebih dini dalam ajang Thomas-Uber Cup 2010 ini.


Indonesia, peraih 13 kali piala Thomas, menurunkan pemain yang hampir sama dengan komposisi pemain yang diturunkan kemarin ketika berhasil membantai Australia 5-0, dengan Taufik Hidayat yang tampil sebagai tunggal pertama.


Mantan juara dunia ini berhasil mengejar ketertinggalan di game pertama dan menang atas Kashyap Parupalli 14-21 21-19 21-18 dalam pertandingan yang berlangsung 64 menit ini. Ganda pertama Indonesia, Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan juga menyelesaikan tugasnya dengan baik dengan mengandaskan perlawanan Sanave Thomas/Akshay Dewalkar 21-11 21-13 dalam waktu 21 menit menjadikan Indonesia unggul 2-0.


India berhasil mencuri satu angka setelah tunggal kedua Indonesia, Sony Dwi Kuncoro mengundurkan diri di babak kedua dalam pertandingan melawan Arvind Bhat. Namun, ganda kedua Indonesia, Alvent Yulianto Chandra/Hendra Aprida Gunawan memastikan Indonesia menang 3-1 India setelah mengalahkan Rupesh Kumar/Diju Valiyaveetil 14-21 21-13 21-11. Simon Santoso berhasil menggenapi keunggulan Indonesia atas India dengan menang straight-game 21-8 21-17 atas Anup Sridhar.


Di pertandingan lainnya, Peru dipastikan tersingkir setelah meraih kekalahan keduanya dalam penyisihan Grup A atas tim kuda hitam, Korea Selatan 0-5.

MALAYSIA WIN 5-0, NIGERIA FATE TO BE DECIDED LATER

KUALA LUMPUR (9 MAY 2010) – Malaysia were declared 5-0 winners over Nigeria after they failed to show up at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil for their opening Group B match in the 26th edition of the PROTON-BWF Thomas Cup Finals tonight.


Badminton World Federation (BWF) chief executive officer Thomas Lund told a press conference together with tournament referee, Mojmir Hnilica, that Nigeria’s fate in the tournament will depend on what transpires in the next few hours.


While three Nigerian officials arrived in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, it is learnt the players have yet to arrive as they took a different flight.


“We have been told the Nigerian team ran into flight snags after their originating flight from Abuja via Dubai was cancelled. The BWF and the tournament referee will discuss the matter further later tonight or the latest by tomorrow morning before deciding on the next move,” said Lund.


“Right now we have no confirmation if the players have boarded the flight or not. There is no communication from them. It is true that there is a ruling that a team must arrive at the tournament venue 48 hours before it starts for the team managers meeting. Nigeria confirmed their participation by phone after running into flight problems,” added Hnilica.

NIGERIA NO-SHOW IN THOMAS CUP OPENER AGAINST MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR (9 MAY 2010) – The Nigerian Thomas Cup team failed to arrive in Kuala Lumpur in time for their Group B match against Malaysia.


According to a statement issued by Badminton World Federation (BWF) media and communications manager S. Selvam the Nigerian team suffered a travel delay forcing the match, scheduled for 1800 hours (Malaysian time), to be put on hold.


“The tournament referee and other BWF officials will go through the tournament rules and regulations to decide on the fate of Nigeria in the tournament. A decision on the Nigerian team will be made in due course,” said Selvam.

Tim Thomas China Libas Peru 5-0

KUALA LUMPUR - Tim Thomas China seperti perkiraan sebelumnya berhasil menang mudah 5-0 atas Tim Thomas Peru dalam laga pertama Grup A-Thomas Cup yang diselenggarakan di Putra Stadium, Kuala Lumpur. Lin Dan mengawali kemenangan China atas Peru dengan menang mudah 21-4 21-6 atas Antonio De Vinatea. Chen Jin yang turun sebagai tunggal kedua juga berhasil melaksanakan tugasnya dengan baik dengan menang straight-game 21-9 21-8 atas Andres Corpancho. Di partai ketiga, Chen Long berhasil memastikan China menang atas Peru dengan menang atas Rodrigo Pacheco 21-11 21-8. Di partai keempat dan terakhir yang sudah tidak menentukan lagi bagi China, dua ganda putra terbaik China berhasil menang atas Peru sekaligus membukukan kemenangan atas Peru 5-0. Guo Zhendong/Xu Chen tanpa kesulitan yang berarti menang 21-6 21-6 atas Antonio De Vinatea/Martin Del Valle. Chai Biao/Zhang Nan yang bermain di partai terakhir juga berhasil membukukan kemenangan straight-game 21-12 21-8 atas Rodrigo Pacheco/Andres Corpancho. Dengan ini, China berhasil memuncaki klasemen sementara di Grup A-Thomas Cup tanpa kehilangan satu game-pun atas Peru.

Tim Thomas Akhirnya Menang Telak 5-0

JAKARTA, Kompas.com - Tim Piala Thomas Indonesia memastikan kemenangan atas Australia 5-0 dalam pertandingan pertama Grup D, Minggu (9/5/2010).


Setelah Simon Santoso memastikan kemenangan Indonesia 3-0, dua partai tersisa juga dimenangi Indonesia. Ganda kedua Nova Widianto/Muhammad Ahsan menang atas Raj Veeran/Jeff Tho 21-13 21-6 dalam waktu hanya 17 menit.


Poin kelima diraih tunggal putera Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka setelah menang dua game atas Stuart Gomez 21-12 21-10. Hayom yang melakukan debut di Piala Thomas menang dalam 21 menit.


Dengan kemenangan ini, Indonesia sementara memimpin klasemen Grup D. Senin (10/5) Taufik Hidayat dkk akan ditantang India. Sementara India akan menghadapi Australia pada pertandingan terakhir, Selasa (11/5)..


Hasil lengkap:
Taufik Hidayat [INA] -[AUS] Jeff Tho 21-12 21-12
Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan [INA]-Ross Smith/Glenn Warfe [AUS] 21-14 24-22
Simon Santoso [INA]-Chad Whitehead [AUS] 21-13 21-4
Nova Widianto/Muhammad Ahsan [INA]-Raj Veeran/Jeff Tho [AUS] 21-13 21-6
Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka [INA]-Stuart Gomez [AUS] 21-12 21-10