New Delhi, Kartunet - A major upset occurred in the Thomas Cup 2014 semifinals as Japan successfully crushed defending champions China with a decisive 3-0 score.
Competing at the Siri Fort Complex, China, aiming for their sixth consecutive title, fielded a full-strength team. In the singles, they featured Chen Long (World No. 2), Du Pengyu (No. 6), and of course, two-time Olympic gold medalist, Lin Dan (No. 58). In the doubles sector, which is considered their weak point, they fielded Chai Biao/Hong Wei (No. 15) and Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan (No. 63). Meanwhile, Japan, considered the "underdog" in this tournament, also brought their best players. In the singles, they relied on Kenichi Tago (No. 4), Kento Momota (No. 14), and Sho Sasaki (No. 17). In the doubles, Kenichi Hayakawa/Hiroyuki Endo (No. 3) were paired with Keigo Sonoda/Takeshi Kumura (No. 13).
Match Progression
The first singles match pitted Chen Long against Kenichi Tago. In this match, Chen Long performed below his best form, while Kenichi Tago, who had lost to French player Brice Leverdez in the previous match, played brilliantly. Tago, who had a Head-to-Head (H2H) record of 3-6 against Chen Long, easily secured one point for Japan, ending the Chinese representative's resistance with a score of 21-13, 21-11.
In the first doubles match, China fielded the young pair Chai Biao/Hong Wei against Japan's formidable duo, the 2014 All England finalists Kenichi Hayakawa/Hiroyuki Endo. Despite a 12-rank difference, the Chinese pair held a 4-1 H2H advantage over the Japanese duo. Boosted by Tago's victory over Chen Long in the first match, Hayakawa/Endo managed to defeat Chai/Wei with a tight score of 22-20, 21-19, giving Team Japan a 2-0 lead over Team China.
Stepping onto the court as China's second singles player, Du Pengyu carried the burden of extending Team China's hopes of defending their title. Facing 19-year-old Japanese player Kento Momota, the 2012 World Junior Championship runner-up, Du Pengyu managed to take the first set 25-23 but lost the subsequent sets 18-21, 14-21. This sealed a 3-0 victory for Team Japan.
This result means that the Chinese Thomas Cup team has failed to reach the final for the first time since 2002, simultaneously missing out on a record of six consecutive titles, which would have surpassed Indonesia's record. The Indonesian Thomas Cup team itself will compete tonight against Malaysia. If they qualify, they will face Team Japan, who defeated Indonesia 3-2 in the quarterfinals two years ago.
Here are the complete results for China vs. Japan:
| - |
| 13-21 11-21 |
| - |
| 20-22 19-21 |
| - |
| 25-23 18-21 14-21 |
Author : Trias Nurhidayat ( @triasnh ) Badminton Lovers