Lengthy dry spell ends for Indonesians
AARHUS: A long wait of nearly two decades ended on Sunday for Indonesia with their reconquest of the Thomas Cup after they beat China 3-0 in the final in Denmark.
The Southeast Asians had won the title 13 times before this, but were stuck on that number since 2002.
The Indonesians were near perfect in their dismantling of a younger, relatively inexperienced Chinese team, who were seeking the Thomas Cup crown after their country won the Uber Cup at the same venue and the recent Sudirman Cup.
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting defeated Lu Guangzu 18-21, 21-14, 21-16 in the opening singles rubber.
Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto beat He Jiting/Zhou Haodong 21-12, 21-19 in the first doubles match.
Jonatan Christie sealed the winning point for Indonesia when he beat Li Shifeng 21-14, 18-21, 21-14.
Christie had played a 100-minute match against Anders Antonsen on Saturday, but he was ready for another long match.
“The third game I said, let’s go, let’s play 100 minutes again,” said Christie.
“I just motivated myself. My last match gave me confidence. I was ready for 120 minutes. This is my biggest achievement, bigger than my Asian Games gold.”
Li kept China’s hopes alive until midway in the third game, when Christie started to wear him down with precision and control, putting in the attacking bursts at just the right moments.
As soon as the final point was won the rest of the team flooded the arena.
“I’m very happy because this is my first time, and we’ve won this after 19 years, and finally we could take it back home. I don’t know what to say, I cannot express my feelings,” said veteran campaigner Hendra Setiawan, who finally added the Thomas Cup to his list of achievements.
The Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Aarhus were postponed from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thailand will host the finals next year.