Cool Danes stun Koreans Star Online GUANGZHOU: Mighty South Korea were supposed to have it easy, but a weakened Denmark did not read the script. The Danes, despite their fourth seeding, were considered the underdogs against the mighty Koreans but sheer grit and determination saw the European champions stun the South Koreans 3-2 in their Group A Thomas Cup tie at the Tianhe Sports Centre here last night. And the hero was none other than European champion Peter Rasmussen, who overcame his nerves and also South Korea’s Park Tae-sang in the deciding third singles 8-7, 7-3, 7-1 after both teams were tied 2-2. The match had already gone on for more than three hours when Denmark came back to force the tie into the decider. And former world champion Rasmussen, making a return from a long injury lay-off, was the trump card, giving the Danes victory over the favoured Koreans. Rasmussen, the joker in the pack, took 55 minutes to win the first game and, from then on, Tae-sang’s resistance was futile and South Korea’s spirit broken. On paper, the Koreans had two formidable doubles pairs who were near certainties to bring in two points while newly-crowned Japan Open champion Lee Hyun-il or Shon Seung-mo were expected to deliver another point in the singles. But the Danes had other ideas. Kenneth Jonassen, who lost in the recent men's singles final of the recent European Championship to compatriot Rasmussen, turned the tables on the younger Hyun-il. Jonassen’s experience proved to be the difference in the match as he won 7-5, 7-0, 4-7, 6-8, 7-3 to give Denmark the first point. It was obvious that the 22-year-old Hyun-il was a bundle of nerves, committing too many unforced errors against the cool Dane. Denmark were on fire and almost surprised Korea’s renowned world number six doubles pair of Kim Dong-moon-Ha Tae-kwon. However, the Koreans dug deep into their bag of tricks to shrug off Martin Lundgaard Hansen-Jens Eriksen 7-1, 6-8, 2-7, 8-6, 7-1 to level the tie. In the third match, Shon Seung-mo recovered from a first game deficit to easily overcome seasoned Anders Bosen 4-7, 7-3, 7-4, 7-1 and the Koreans thought they were home and dry. But the Danes were not finished and as their second doubles pair of Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen defied the odds to upset Korea's world No. 2 pair of Lee Dong-soo-Yoo Yong-sung 7-3, 8-6, 3-7, 7-3 to square the tie. By then, the stadium was virtually empty. Those who stayed back after China’s 5-0 whitewash of Sweden earlier, left after watching Hong Kong edge Indonesia 3-2 in a Uber Cup Group A tie. How they must have regretted leaving so soon as the Danes had one more trick up their sleeves. And it was left to Rasmussen to complete a fairy-tale ending for himself and his country and take them one step closer to the semi-finals by beating Tae-sang.
55 minutes for the first game?? That can't be right...the overall time for the whole match was 43 minutes according to the live score website. Regardless, it was quite an accomplishment for the Danes esp. Rasmussen.
