Indonesia’s men lived up to expectations by winning Group B in Thomas Cup Asia zone qualifying, but its women are on the brink of missing the Uber Cup finals for the first time since 2006.
The men edged India 3-2 to win the group with a 3-0 record. They play Group D runner-up South Korea in today’s quarterfinals after the Koreans lost 4-1 to Malaysia.
After strolling to 5-0 victories against host Macau and Singapore, Indonesia got a sterner test from India. Simon Santoso opened with a 21-7, 21-15 defeat of Kashyap Parupalii at No. 1 singles.
India drew level at the Macau Forum, though, with Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas’ 21-18, 21-16 win over Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan at No. 1 doubles. No. 2 singles shuttler Taufik Hidayat then had to overcome a shaky start to beat Anand Pawar 21-16, 21-13.
Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan made sure of the victory by winning at No. 2 doubles, beating Akshay Dewalkar and Pranav Chopa 21-18, 21-16. In the No. 3 singles dead rubber, Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka fell 13-21, 21-15, 21-9 to Sai Praneeth.
India faces Group D winner Malaysia in the last eight. In the other ties, defending Thomas Cup champion China takes on Thailand and Japan meets Taiwan.
The top five men’s teams from Asia advance to the finals in Wuhan, China, on May 20-27.
Only the top four women’s teams advance, though, and Indonesia faces a difficult task to reach the semifinals. Its 3-2 loss to regional rival Thailand in the Group Y decider means it must beat Group W winner and 11-time Uber Cup winner China for the first time since 1996 to advance.
Adrianti Firdasari opened with a 21-16, 23-21 win at No. 1 singles over Inthanon Ratchanok, scoring a bit of revenge for her loss at the Southeast Asian Games.
Thailand rolled from there, though, with Porntip Buranaprasertsuk edging Lindaweni Fanetri 21-18, 10-21, 21-18 and Sapsiree Taerattanachai winning 21-12, 14-21, 21-11 over Belaetrix Manuputi.
Saralee Thoungthongkam and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul secured the Thais’ victory with a 21-18, 21-19 defeat of Liliyana Natsir and Meiliana Jauhari.
Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Anneke Feinya Agustin won the doubles dead rubber against Savitree Amitrapai and Sapsiree Taerattanachai after the Thai pair retired.
