Denmark confident the strait times. Danes surprise Indonesia in semis but Gade must be fit against China today By Peh Shing Huei A DAY after the wedding of their Crown Prince and an Australian commoner, Denmark's badminton team created their own fairy tale in the Thomas Cup. [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-2][/size][/font] After 56 years and 11 tries, they finally beat Indonesia 3-2 in the semi-finals of the Cup early yesterday morning. A dazed Denmark head coach Steen Pedersen told The Sunday Times after the epic 5hr 50min battle: 'To finally beat Indonesia and to do it here in Jakarta, it's amazing.' Now, they can really live happily ever after - if they beat hot favourites China in tonight's final. But history is not on their side. Denmark have lost all their six finals and the Cup has never gone out of Asia. Indonesia have 13 wins; Malaysia (in the early days including Singapore) five; and China four. Asked if they were the underdogs, Pedersen replied: 'No way. China have won all their matches and so have we. It will be 50-50.' The Danes owe much to their formidable doubles pairs. Said a stunned Indonesian team manager Christian Hadinata: 'I'm very sad. We expected to win at least one of the two doubles.' To counter world champions and world No 1s Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen, Indonesia dropped their usual first doubles and sent in Eng Hian and Flandi Limpele, who had not lost in three matches against the Danes. Paaske and Rasmussen whacked them 15-13, 15-7. After Indonesia had won the two singles, All-England champions Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen levelled the tie. What may decide the Cup is the battle between Paaske-Rasmussen and China's world No 2 pair, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. But unlike Indonesia, China do not have a weak link in the singles. At 2-2 in the semi-finals, Peter Rasmussen thrashed 18-year-old Indonesian rookie Simon Santoso 15-3, 15-13. But China's third singles is the reigning world champion Xia Xuanze, who will match, if not edge out, Rasmussen. In the second singles, China can field either world No 2 Chen Hong or No 4 Bao Chunlai - both are good bets against Kenneth Jonassen. The key? First singles Lin Dan versus Peter Gade-Christensen. On his day, the Dane can give the world No 1 a good fight. But he was terribly off-form when he lost to Sony Dwi Kuncoro 4-15, 8-15. He told The Sunday Times: 'I have been suffering from a stomach upset. 'If you are not 110 per cent ready, it is impossible to face the Indonesians in Senayan.' If he fails to recover his touch and tummy, the irrepressible Lin will probably lead China to the trophy after a decade's absence. This would give China their first double triumph since 1990, their women having beaten South Korea 3-1 in last night's Uber Cup final. Already, China are looking ahead to more good years. As head coach Li Yongbo boasted: 'We have a solid young men's team that will give us many years of dominance.' In contrast, the Indonesians, after a record five consecutive titles, did not even reach the final at home. More worrying, their traditional strength in the doubles was their Achilles' heel this time - especially without the squabbling ex-world champions Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto. Besides lagging behind the Danes and Koreans, their doubles pairs are even weaker than China's, who for years were the laughing stock internationally. Admitted their team manager Christian: 'Our doubles are completely behind the Chinese.' China's experience shows that it does not take long to groom solid doubles pairs. After 2002, the legendary Tang 'The Thing' Xianhu produced world No 2 Cai-Fu and No 6 Sang Yang-Zheng Bo in two years. Still, talk of Indonesia's demise may be somewhat premature. In Sony, 19, and Taufik Hidayat, 22, they still have two young world-class players who can play at least another two Cups. Their ex-world champion Hendrawan told The Sunday Times: 'Indonesia will need four years to win back the Cup. But it is not difficult when we have so many players. 'In the 1980s, we had the same problems but came back to win five times in a row.' Asked when Indonesia intend to win back the Cup, a defiant Christian said: 'The next one.'
- Li Yong Bo is a condemned Ma. every time he talks to his own press about the virtues of the team foreigners immediately label him as cocky,arrogant or boastful. Anyone in Li's place will naturally decide not to talk to the foreign press, as they cant see the context in which views are made. What do you expect a coach to say to his own press and folks back home. that all is lost ? He's even praised the Indonesian supporters for their good behaviour at all times in the cup.
