Denmark confident over Thomas Cup title www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-05 16:13:05 JAKARTA, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Danish team for men's group badminton championship have expressed confidence to grab the titleof Thomas Cup that will run here from May 7 to May 16. "We have a very good team this time and hopefully we have a bigger chance to win the championship," Flemming Wiberg, manager of Denmark's Thomas and Uber Cup teams, was quoted Wednesday by The Jakarta Post as saying. Wiberg said that Denmark would line up the world's top doubles pair in Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen, and European champions Jens Erikssen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen, but adding diplomatically that all of the participating teams were equally strong. Denmark is expected to have Peter Gade, ranked sixth in the world by the International Badminton Federation, as its first singles, followed by Kenneth Jonassen, who is ranked 12th in the world. "We are eager to win the Thomas Cup. We've been very close to winning it. We have to win this time," Peter Gade said. Twelve teams each in the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup will be competing until May 16. The teams come from 16 countries and regions. Denmark's Thomas Cup team havebeen placed in Group D with Japan and England. They will open the tournament against England on Friday and will then face Japan on Monday. Denmark's Uber Cup team are drawn against Japan and Malaysia in Group Y. Wiberg was a little less optimistic about Denmark's chances in the Uber Cup, saying the team would relish the challenge of securing a place in the semifinals. "Our target for the women is to reach the semifinals, and we'llsee what happens next. "The toughest opponent for our women team will be China, but inour own group we notice that Malaysia have been playing well lately," he said. Camilla Martin, one of Denmark's top women's player who lost inthe semifinals of the European championships in April, said she did not consider the Uber Cup her main goal, which she said was winning gold at the Olympic Games in Athens next August. Meanwhile, South Africa, Canada, Germany and Australia arrived here on Tuesday for the tournament. The remaining teams are expected to arrive on Wednesday.
