2006-05-01 09:08:58 Shanghai Daily Defending champion China, and perennial hot favorites, Malaysia, Denmark, and Indonesia, have eased into the quarterfinals of the 24th Thomas Cup in Sendai, Japan, after securing two wins against no loss in the group phase. The unseeded Indonesians, led by world and Olympic champion Hidayat Taufik, came from 0-2 down to stun seeded South Korea 3-2 to top Group B, and will probably meet China in the quarterfinals. The Koreans took a 2-0 lead with Lee Hyun-il beating Taufik 16-21, 21-10, 21-8 in the singles and Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae defeating Wijaya Candra and Budiarto Sigit 21-16, 21-14 in the first doubles. But the Indonesians turned the tables by taking the next three games, with Olympic bronze medalist Kuncoro Soni Dwi starting the rally by toying with Shon Seung-mo, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 21-9, 21-15. The Indonesian pair of Hadiyanto Luluk and Alven Yulianto then leveled the score by beating Hwang Ji-man and Han Sang-hoon. Santoso Simon sealed the victory in the decider by getting the better of Park Sung-hwan 21-18, 21-16. Indonesian team manager Rudy Hartono was pleased with his team's performance, moreso because it meant avoiding the Malaysians, who beat them twice in two recent team events. South Korea will probably take on Malaysia, instead. In other Thomas Cup matches, China, Denmark and Malaysia beat their opponents with identical scores of 5-0, topping their groups, respectively. Meanwhile, in the women's Uber Cup, the 21st edition of which is being played in Japan, reigning champion China met with little resistance from Chinese Taipei, winning 5-0. Host Japan, seeded second, trounced New Zealand 5-0, to top its group. Hong Kong, China and South Korea, clinched the remaining two tickets to the quarterfinals, which will be held in Tokyo on May 3-7.
