Badminton: Indonesia wins Thomas Cup again after almost two-decade wait


In a surprising move, Indonesia fielded their third doubles Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, despite having the likes of world number one pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and world number two Hendra Setiawan-Mohammad Ahsan.

However, the world number seven pair was able to beat He Ji Ting-Zhou Hao Dong in straight sets of 21-12, 21-19 to double the lead in front of more than 2,000 spectators.

Indonesia confirmed the 3-0 victory against China – the second most successful team in the biennial tournament with 10 titles – when world number seven Jonatan Christie clinched a 21-14, 18-21, 21-14 win against world number 65, Li Shi Feng.

Jonatan credited his teammates for the success, and thanked all Indonesians for their support.

“It is definitely very amazing because the last time we lifted this trophy was in 2002, and that was very, very long ago,” said .

“At that time, our (former) singles player Taufik Hidayat was still playing. I feel it is high time for us to bring the Thomas Cup back home,” he said.



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