Aarhus: Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Jonatan Christie, and Shesar Hiren Rhustavito sealed Indonesia’s place in the 2020 Thomas Cup quarter-finals by defeating Chinese Taipei 3-2 in the last Group A tie on Wednesday.
The 2020 Thomas Cup Group A was considered the group of death as three teams – Indonesia, Thailand, and Chinese Taipei were perceived to be strong enough to secure qualification to the knock-out stage.
Indonesia’s World No. 5 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting who lost to Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the tie against Thailand on Monday, successfully redeemed himself by beating Taiwan’s World No. 4 Chou Tien Chen 22-20, 21-16 to score the first point for his country.
Taiwan’s Tokyo Olympic gold medalists – Lee Yang/Wang Chi-lin carved out a victory over Indonesia’s World No. 7 Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto 28-26, 16-21, 21-14 in the first men’s doubles match to level the overall score at 1-1.
The men’s singles World No. 7 Jonatan Christie who has been struggling since the Sudirman Cup which was held in Vantaa, Finland last week, finally found his confidence by beating World No. 11 Wang Tzu Wei 21-17, 21-13 in the second men’s singles match to give Indonesia a 2-1 lead.
The tie went right down to the wire after Taiwan’s Lu Ching Yao/Yang Po Han saved a match point to beat Indonesia’s scratch pair – Mohammad Ahsan/Daniel Marthin 20-22, 21-17, 21-23 in 78 minutes.
World No. 19 Shesar Hiren Rhustavito took the court in the third men’s singles match and he played an important role of either sending Indonesia packing (if he lose) or lift his country to the knock-out stage.
Rhustavito was pushed to the limit by World No. 146 Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei, before coming out on top with a 16-21, 21-18, 21-19 victory to give Indonesia a 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei.
The win saw Indonesia topped Group A, with Thailand came in second. Only the top two teams of each group could advance to the knock-out stage.
In another Thomas Cup tie between Denmark and Korea, the hosts who have already qualified for the knock-out stage after beating France and Germany last Saturday and Monday won their last Group B tie against Korea 4-1.
“I am happy about my performance because I was able to start the match by playing at a high level. We both relaxed a little bit at the end of the second set,” said Viktor Axelsen of Denmark who overcame Heo Kwanghee in straight games 21-12 21-14 in the first men’s singles match of the tie.
Below are day five results of the 2020 Thomas and Uber Cup finals:
2020 Thomas Cup Results (October 13, 2021):
Thomas Cup – Group A, Indonesia vs. Chinese Taipei 3-2
Thomas Cup – Group A, Thailand vs. Algeria 5-0
Thomas Cup – Group B, Denmark vs. Korea 4-1
Thomas Cup – Group B, Germany vs. France 3-2
Thomas Cup – Group C, Netherlands vs. Tahiti 4-1
2020 Uber Cup Results (October 13, 2021):
Uber Cup – Group B, Thailand vs. India 5-0
Uber Cup – Group C, Egypt vs. Tahiti 5-0
Uber Cup – Group C, Korea vs. Chinese Taipei 4-1
Uber Cup – Group B, Spain vs. Scotland 3-2
