Badminton powerhouse Indonesia smashed their way to a record 17th Thomas Cup final yesterday, providing Japan with an unforgettable masterclass in athleticism, agility and passion.
The 13-time champions strolled to victory with a 3-1 win in front of a large and vocal crowd at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, breaking stride only occasionally to change ends and wipe down their rackets.
The second seeds’ world No.5 Taufik Hidayat hit his best form so far, forcing All England runner-up Kenichi Tago all over the court with a nonchalant mix of passes, disguised drop-shots and smashes to win 21-9, 21-14.
Indonesia looked fresh after an easy path through the quarters and capitalized on a weary-looking Japan, who had scraped to a five-set win against Malaysia in an epic encounter earlier.
Indonesia’s Olympic champion doubles pairing of Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan piled on the agony, dispatching Kenichi Hayakawa and Kenta Kazuno 21-9, 21-11 in just 22 minutes to put Indonesia 2-0 up.
Only Japan’s Sho Sasaki was able to offer resistance, beating Indonesia’s Simon Santoso, who was picked as the second singles player to replace the injured Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
Santoso fought back after going a set down, but in the end was unable to fend off the battling Sasaki, who stormed to 21-11 in the deciding set.
Order was restored when Indonesian pairing Nova Widianto and Alvent Yulianto Chandra saw off Noriyasu Hirata and Hiroyuki Endo 21-14, 22-20.
Indonesia, who last won the cup in China in 2002, now face favorites and defending champions China, who coasted to a 3-0 victory over hosts Malaysia late yesterday’s in the second semi-final of the Thomas Cup.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS