NST April 27 THE 2006 edition is the third time Japan is hosting the Thomas Cup finals and Pos Malaysia Holdings Bhd chairman TAN SRI ADAM KADIR recollects the first occasion when fanatical fans and numerous flash bulbs saw Indonesia regain the title despite Denmark leading 4-1 and a point away from winning the crown for the first time. IT was 1964, the year when Japan hosted the Thomas Cup final round for the first time. It was the sixth Thomas Cup, then held every three years, since its inception in 1949 in Preston, England. If Queen Elizabeth once called a past year as being ‘annus horribulus’, or horrible year, then 1964 was also one for the Thomas Cup and Malaysia. The reigning champions were Indonesia, having wrested it from then Malaya in 1958 in Singapore. ‘Konfrantasi’, Indonesia's policy of aggression against the just-formed Malaysia, was at its height. Half a world away, in a small town near London where the International Badminton Federation (IBF) was headquartered, there was a lingering concern about two things. One was the scare about the possible repeat of what happened in Jakarta in 1961 when finalists Thailand and the international badminton community felt cheated by the Indonesian umpiring, thus guaranteeing the home team the title. The other was the general belief that as long as the final round was held in an equatorial country, what with the heat and difficult atmosphere, to the confined concern of the teams from the temperate countries, there was little chance for countries like Denmark, England or the United States to win the Cup. That explained the decision to make Tokyo the venue. The earlier standing decision that the reigning champions were the automatic hosts was revoked. The Malaysian team then comprised Teh Kew San, Tan Aik Huang, Yew Cheng Hoe, Ng Boon Bee, Tan Yee Khan, Lim Say Hup and George Yap. Malaysia's 2-7 loss to Denmark in the early round was relatively of no earth-shaking surprise. The reason being Erland Kops was arguably the world's best player, that some European sports writers said he was "invincible". Knud-Aege Nielsen was the 1964 All-England singles champion, as were Finn Kobbero and Jorgen Hammergard-Hansen, the doubles champions. At last came that particular Saturday. It was the final between Indonesia, the champions, and Denmark, the worthy challengers. It was played in the morning. The opportunity to follow it live was only via Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), the same media that hurled scorn against Malaysia. I was, as were other fanatic badminton followers, in my office. There was no way to sneak out and listen to the radio. In any case, the first day's result was 3-1 (best of nine format) in favour of Denmark. Another five matches were to be played the next day. That fateful Sunday was bizarre at its utmost. True to Sukarno's word, the Thomas Cup campaign was fittingly treated as part and parcel of his country's ideology. Nothing would stop the Indonesians from doing anything imaginable to make sure that the Cup remained in Indonesia. Otherwise, they said, it could cause a revolution. After Knud-Aege Nielsen had vanquished Tan Joe Hock in the opening singles, making it 4-1 in favour of Denmark, and needing only to win another singles to wrest the championship, the second singles for the day between Erland Kops and Ferry Sonneville stood out unequalled in the history of the Thomas Cup in particular and badminton in general. The Indonesian crowd of about three hundred, specially flown to the Japanese capital after the 3-1 setback of the first day, threw everything to stop Erland Kops from winning the match on reaching match point. Ferry trailed by about 10 points. Judging from his own very high standard, Kops would surely clinch the final point and bring home the Cup to Denmark. It was not to be. The crowd flashed cameras simultaneously, booed and jeered as if bringing the roof down, when Kops was to serve for the championship point. The repeated cautions by the organisers went unheeded. The organisers were taken by surprise, and it explained why there was an absence of security personnel and police. True enough, Kops was crudely affected by all those disturbances. He failed to get the crucial point, while Ferry inched back, one point after another, and won the second game on deuce. Kops suffered a collapse, thanks to the ever impossible crowd, in the rubber game. Kops had been Denmark's last bastion but he fell. And so, from a 1-3 deficit on the first day, then 1-4, Indonesia finally retained the Cup, 5-4. To me, Denmark had never been closer than that to the coveted Thomas Cup.
A very interesting article. This explains why Thomas Cup is always elusive for european teams, especially Denmark. Hope Thomas Cup stays in Asia forever.
Dun worry, ronk. Those days are gone. I strongly believe that this is the year where there are no clear favorites and Denmark stand an equal chance as China, Malaysia and Indonesia to win the cup.
I think it will be good for the game if Denmark wins. It is also about time as Denmark, so deserving of the game's biggest prize, the TC, now has about the strongest and most balanced team it has ever put together. The big picture part of me wants a Dannish victory, not so much as a reward to a deserving team (although it may so deserve it), but more as a catalyst to spreading the game to a higher and wider level to all parts of the world.
wow, i had no idea that sort of thing happened back then. i was always under the impression that sports fans back in the 50s and 60s were much more civilised than today. but then, i guess that security today is a whole lot stricter as well, and the article did say that they were caught unprepared.
Your statement is a bit misleading. That article only sort of explains why Denmark didn't win Thomas Cup in 1964. In all other years, Denmark didn't win because of other reasons (beaten on the court, fair and square).
