CHENGDU – There was double delight for China on May 5, as the badminton powerhouses won the Thomas and Uber Cups on home soil by defeating Indonesia in the finals of both team tournaments.
China won 3-1 in the Thomas Cup final after racing to a 2-0 lead, with world No. 2 Shi Yuqi ousting seventh-ranked Anthony Ginting 21-17, 21-6, followed by top-ranked Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang’s 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 victory over world No. 7 Fajar Alfian and Rian Ardianto.
It was Shi’s sixth win in as many matches in the tournament, and the 28-year-old said he was glad that he could secure points for his team at crucial stages all week.
He had tried to relieve pressure on himself, adding: “When you put too much expectations on yourself, you would tend not to perform. So, there’s a need to not focus too much on winning.
“Being able to handle the pressure was exactly where I had excelled in this week.”
Ginting, a Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, admitted that he had no answer to Shi’s barrage of attacks, saying: “From the beginning, I couldn’t withstand the pressure that Shi Yuqi gave me.”
The 27-year-old added that he needs to learn to be calmer in such situations.
Indonesia, whose last of their 14 Thomas Cup titles came in the delayed 2020 edition, narrowed the deficit through world No. 3 Jonatan Christie’s 21-16, 15-21, 21-17 win over sixth-ranked Li Shifeng.
But world No. 11 He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu sealed China’s 11th title by defeating ninth-ranked Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana 21-11, 21-15 in the second doubles match, sparking raucous celebrations from the crowd at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre in Chengdu.
Earlier in the day, China lifted the Uber Cup for the 16th time when they swept Indonesia 3-0 in the final to complete a 24-match unbeaten run in their march to the women’s team title.
World No. 6 He Bingjiao’s 10-21, 21-15, 21-17 victory against 38th-ranked Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo completed their triumph, enabling the women’s team to regain the title they lost to South Korea two years ago in Thailand.
Indonesia’s slim chances hinged on world No. 9 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung breaking through in the opening singles against second-ranked Chen Yufei.
But Chen never allowed her opponent into the contest in a comprehensive 21-7, 21-16 win that put China 1-0 up in the best-of-five final after just 38 minutes.
Top-ranked duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan did not give Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti and Ribka Sugiarto a sniff in a 39-minute demolition.
“The scariest thing is when people think you should win,” said Chen.
“Things become different when you assume you can win. The only thing we need to do is prepare and be humble.”
Their 21-11, 21-8 canter set up He for the Cup-winning victory in the second singles.
“During the last few years, we experienced failure, and I’m happy that we could regain the title,” said He, who was part of the team who lost in the 2022 final.
However, Indonesia, who won the last of their three Uber Cup titles in 1996, could take heart from their first final appearance since 2008, as they gear up for the July 26-Aug 11 Olympics.
Gregoria said: “I‘m glad that we’ve made it to the final, it’s definitely not an easy journey.
“Thanks to the Thomas and Uber Cup finals, both our men’s and women’s teams will have a better preparation for Paris 2024.” AFP
