Badminton: Uber Cup Team Gets Tough Draw Jarkarta Globe Ami Afriatni | January 30, 2012 Anneke Feinya Agustine and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari will be relied on during qualifying. (JG Photo) Related articles Malaysia Open Hopes Rest With Tontowi, Liliyana 11:01pm Jan 13, 2012 China Reigns Supreme at Home as Lin Victory Gives Him ‘Super Grand Slam’ 8:29pm Dec 18, 2011 Badminton: ‘Super’ Dan Steps Up a Gear, Dispatches Hidayat 8:18am Dec 16, 2011 Indonesians See Title Hopes Disappear at Super Series Finals 8:48pm Dec 15, 2011 Shuttlers See Off Brits in China 8:54pm Dec 14, 2011 Indonesia’s hopes of qualifying for the Uber Cup women’s team tournament could hinge on a single match. Monday’s draw in Macau for Asian zone qualifying put Indonesia in Group Y against Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and regional rival Thailand. While advancing is a safe bet, with the top two moving on, where Indonesia finishes in its group is of the utmost importance. Eleven-time champion China is in Group W with India and Malaysia, while Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam made up Group X. Host Macau is in Group Z with Japan and Hong Kong. The top four teams from the Feb. 13-19 qualifying rounds in Macau advance to the tournament proper, from May 20 to 27 in Wuhan, China. The Group Y runner-up faces the Group W winner. That means if Indonesia fails to win its group, it must beat China to reach the Uber Cup finals. “We’ll have to just deal with it. On paper, it’s a tough draw, but I believe we can overcome all obstacles if we play with great determination,” Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) secretary general Yacob Rusdianto said on Monday. While victories against Sri Lanka on Feb. 13 and Kazakhstan on Feb. 14 are likely, Thailand is a different proposition. The Thais have come on strong in recent years, beating Indonesia 3-1 for the Southeast Asian Games women’s team gold medal last year. Their squad will likely include three-time world junior singles champion Ratchanok Inthanon, ranked 13th in the world – the highest among Southeast Asian women’s shuttlers – and world No. 14 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk. Indonesia’s highest-ranked women’s singles shutter is No. 35 Adrianti Firdasari. However, its top women’s doubles pairs — Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari, and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Anneke Feinya Agustine — are higher-ranked than their Thai peers. With each qualifying tie featuring three singles and two doubles matches, Indonesia faces a tough fight against the Thais. “Thailand is a tough rival, but I’m optimistic that we can beat them and win the group,” said Nitya, who alongside Anneke gave the host nation its only point against Thailand in the SEA Games final. Adrianti, who lost to Ratchanok in the women’s team gold-medal match, said she was out for revenge. “I was suffering from an abdominal injury at the SEA Games, but now I’m ready. I’m highly motivated and will try to help the team win the group to avoid China in the quarterfinals,” she said. China, by far the most dominant force in women’s badminton, is expected to ease into top spot in Group W. The last time Indonesia beat China was in the 1996 Uber Cup final, which was also the last time Indonesia lifted the trophy. A loss in the qualifying quarterfinals would see Indonesia miss the Uber Cup for only the second time in its history, the first coming in 2006. Over on the men’s side, Indonesia was drawn into Group B of Thomas Cup qualifying alongside India, Singapore and Macau. It opens against host nation Macau on Feb. 13, followed by Singapore the next day and India on Feb. 15. The four semifinalists in Asian qualifying automatically advance to the Thomas Cup finals, while teams losing in the quarterfinals drop into a playoff for the fifth and final place. Thomas Cup Group A: China, Taiwan, Vietnam Group B: Indonesia, India, Singapore, Macau Group C: Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan Group D: South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong Uber Cup Group W: China, India, Malaysia Group X: Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam Group Y: Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan Group Z: Japan, Hong Kong, Macau
Yup, after 2010 AG semifinal and 2011 SEAG final. Will INA take revenge this time? Interesting encounter to wait...
Still fresh on my mind that Ina lost to Tha in final sea games.... So worrying what about to happen again in Macau
Malaysia's chances Thomas Cup Group It would be a great upset if MAS can beat KOR. KOR should win both MD and take either MS2 or MS3 (or both). Against HKG, MAS should win, even though this is not as guaranteed as it was before. QF Should meet INA. Again INA to take both MD and either MS2 or MS3 (or both). 5th to 8th Now, it all comes down to the 5th to 8th category. This is where the fight really begins because I would say the top 4 is rather set in stone. TPE, IND, THA, MAS - the top of this pile will qualify (I think). vs IND, MD1 is the key - whoever wins this key match can win the tie 3-2 vs THA, I think MAS are favourites, but again the most important is MD1 vs TPE, this is where I think MAS will slip; TPE odds-on to take both MD, just needing one more MS (MS3 the most likely) Overall, I rate MAS chances to be less than 50%, but there is a fighting chance. It all depends on the attitude of the players. MAS MD pairs have the potential, even MD2 and Hafiz has some sort of resurgence recently. No comment about MS3, which is the weakest point among the numerous weak points. Uber Cup Group Fighting chance for 2nd. But both WD must win (50-50) and snatch one WS (which is even tougher). I rate MAS chances to escape bottom position less than 40%. QF On the off chance that MAS qualify for the QF, INA or THA awaits. This is where MAS are goners, losing all 3 WS. 5th to 8th What's the point? (if MAS can even get to it)
CHN's Uber Cup team need to be careful in the QF (either INA or THA). I won't expect CHN to lose. But last Uber Cup final? Who saw that coming.
^ No, Chn will swept Ina 3-0 or Tha 3-1..... Now I wish Ina didn't in same group with Tha, but with Jpn or Tpe instead. At least if Ina got 2nd in qualification group, will meet either Jpn/Tpe and that odd are much more better to win than 50% than 0% against Chn....
Most of members of BC forum are from Ina and Mas. It is very sad to know that the odds of surviving from UC qualifiacion for both nations is very slim or rather uphill task. I want to be optimistic but hey the records against Ina, Tha is understably preparing this as hard as Ina. Add that with Ratchanok is quite popular in Ina (at least in one social media) with her bf from Ina and all. I wonder in another possible time, that Ina and Mas UC are really superpowers instead Chn or Korea, imagine what cheer will be given into this forum... Just a thought, not worth a dime
Really miss Susi Susanti - Ye Zhaoying - Bang Soo-hyun competitive era when no one can't really predict the outcome of winner !!
If all the top CHN players playing, they will not get beaten by any of current South East Asian countries. But who knows, Thailand might upset all the 3 singles or first 2 singles + the 2nd WD is Saralee playing.
you do realise that this reserve UC team of CHN consists of 3 WS in top 10 plus a ex-world champion in Wang Lin, and the world's 2nd best WD. if THA can score 1 point against CHN they should have a national holiday to celebrate!
True, the h2h record of Inthanon and Porntip against the 3 chinese players are bad, especially recently. Wang Lin, maybe she is back to her best but maybe she is not yet. But then, in team event, Li and Liu are not tested yet. Jiang is steady but often injured or not playing her best.
this is in a way how China is smarter than other countries. they have a huge number of reserve players who have the skills of the top but not necessarily the experience and exposure. we can say that it is weird for them to field the team in the prelim even though they don't have to, it is their way to let these youngsters to experience the big team tournament. this way they can avoid a repeat of UC2010.
Yeah, it would be second time to repeat 2006 edition... After that INA Uber team was out as runner-up and semifinalist in 2008 and 2010 respectively, lost to China.
I thought only the reigning champion doesn't need to play at the preliminary. I thought China Women still need to play in Macau? So China men just come to play for fun. Even if they lost all their matches, they will still play in the final, is it correct?
But China is the host for the Thomas/Uber Cup Finals 2012. So, technically speaking, the girls are also exempted from playing in the Qualifying.
