JAKARTA: MALAYSIA staged a heroic fight before conceding defeat to defending champions Indonesia in a Thomas Cup quarter-final tie at the Senayan Indoor Stadium in Jakarta last night. The Indonesians won the tie 3-1 but they had to go through agonising moments in the second doubles match to clinch victory. The experienced pair of Flandi Limpele-Eng Hian were up against what was said to be the weakest link in the Malaysian team – the scratch combination of Chew Choon Eng-Koo Kien Keat. But the Malaysian pair, in their bid to save the tie, produced an outstanding performance to give Indonesia a scare before going down 9-15, 15-13, 12-15. Indonesia won their other points in the first and second singles matches through Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Taufik Hidayat. Malaysia's veteran pair of Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah pulled Malaysia level at 1-1 after Wong Choong Hann had lost the first singles match to Sony. Thomas Cup Finals rookie Kien Keat, who gave a sensational fighting display together with Choon Eng, said: “I played my best game today but it was not enough to keep Malaysia's challenge going. We were so close to saving the tie for Malaysia and it's so disappointing that we failed to make it.” Choon Eng-Kien Keat trailed 6-13 in the second game and were on the brink of defeat but they staged a remarkable comeback to force a rubber game. They were in with a chance to steal the match from the Indonesian but went down 12-15. Their defeat meant that Mohd Hafiz Hashim did not get to play the fifth match of the tie against Simon Santoso. The defeat for Malaysia was the 11th by Indonesia in 15 ties in the Finals series thus far. Malaysia needed Choong Hann to win the first singles match to enhance their chances of toppling Indonesia. But the Malaysian number one was beaten 15-12, 2-15, 6-15 by the 20-year-old Sony in a match that lasted more than an hour. Tan Fook-Wan Wah, who had failed to clinch the winning point for Malaysia when Malaysia played against Indonesia in the final at the last championships in Guangzhou in 2002, revived Malaysian hopes when they blew away Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto 15-12, 15-6. Taufik put Indonesia back in the drivers' seat with an easy 15-10, 15-2 win over Mohd Roslin Hashim. The Indonesians in the stadium celebrated in anticipation of an easy win for Flandi-Eng Hian over Choon Eng-Kien Keat. But they were in for a scare. The Malaysians refused to throw in the towel, giving a gritty performance that fell just short of taking the tie to a deciding third singles match between Hafiz and Simon. The Indonesians thus advance to a semi-final match against Denmark tomorrow. The other semi-final will be between favourites China and South Korea. A FIGHT TO THE LAST: Youngster Koo Kien Keat goes flat out to return a shot to the fancied Indonesian pair of Flandi Limpele and Eng Hian as teammate Chew Choon Eng looks on. The scratch Malaysian pair put up a titanic battle against the former world number one before giving Indonesia the tie. TheStar
