Thomas Cup 1988. Malaysia v Indonesia. Malaysia was 0 2 down when 3rd Single Rashid Sidek played against Ardy Wiranata. followed by his Sidek brothers in the first doubles.
Thomas Cup 1988 semi final Indonesia vs Malaysia memories



written by sonnymak in 2007


I remember watching that semi finals. It was on of the most exciting match in the history of the Thomas Cup. From the mid 70s and early 80s, Malaysia looked set to stay in the doldrums of world badminton and expected to be eclipse by newcomers Korea even.

Everyone expected the Indonesians to win. The Indonesian was confident . The lineup was (1) Icuk Sugiarto vs Misbun Sidek (2) Eddy Kurniawan vs Foo Kok Keong (3) Ardy Wiranata vs Rashid Sidek (4) HartonoGunawan vs Sidek Brothers (5) Liem S King –Ertanto vs Ong –Cheah Soon Kit.

Misbun Sidek the bad boy of badminton , His entire career plagued by his split personality in Court. He could play like a World Champion in one moment and then play like a novice the next.

Icuk played well in the 1st set, Misbun lost tamely. In the 2nd Set, Misbun chose to play like a champion. He displayed all those beautifully crafted strokes he was famous for and made Icuk running around the Court chasing shadows. I could see Icuk agonizingly bending his back to move backwards to retrieve high baseline lobs from Misbun. I think Misbun won the set without even a single smash which is unheard of these days. Misbun won the 2nd set and the crowd went wild. There were jitters amongst the Indonesian camp. Alas the momentum did not last. Icuk upped the pace in the 3dr and it was all over for Misbun in the 3rd set. But Misbun gallant run sparked something in the Malaysian’s camp.

INA 1 MAS 0

The next match Eddy was in complete control. Foo was never in the game and lost quickly in two sets. Everything was going to plan and the Indonesian planned to wrap up the game in the 3rd Single.

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Ardy was touted as the new Rudy Hartono. Young and impressive at 17. Rashid at 19 was poised to take over his brother’s mantle and had shown promise by wining the Asian junior championship two years earlier by beating Alan Budi Kusuma.

But the gallant fight Misbun shown earlier fired up Rashid. Rashid displayed an attacking game . And Ardy had no answer. Ardy clearly lacked experience and buckled under pressure. The game ended in straight sets.

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The Indonesian still had Eddy Hartono and Rudy Gunawan in the 4th game the 1st of the doubles. Razif anf Jailani Sidek were the most consistent pair internationally for the Malaysia and had won the All England in 1982.

It was a display of attacking double against defence. Eddy would jump high and smash with all his might and the Rudy would take over when Eddy’s tired.

Razif and Jailani just soaked up the attack by returning every smash the Indonesians could throw at them. Often Eddy would be out of position after an attack and the Sidek brothers would flick the shuttle to the empty Court. The match was close . By the 3rd set, Eddy was very tired and his smash began to lose its sting. The brothers start to attack. Characteristic of their game was to attack one player relentlessly and they attack Eddy. The Malaysians won the match. Christian Hadinata coach was later to remark that it was unbelievable defence play, the Indonesian at one stage smash 17 times in succession and could not kill.

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Then came the match of the night, the great Liem Swee King partnering Bobby Ertanto. Liem Swee King was the most versatile player. Singles champion and now playing doubles. Liem partnering Eddy Hartono had won several tournaments in 1986 including beating Tian Bingyi and Li Yong Bo and had just won the World Cup doubles in 1987 with Bobby.

The Malaysians Ong Beng Teong also used to play singles partnering an unknown youngster, Cheah Soon Kit who would soon send shockwaves through Indonesia and the rest of the Badminton world.

The Malaysian played like men possessed. Cheah already a tall lanky lad would leap very high in the air with not just smashes but lots of net play from the back. Cheah’s game was the precursor of how doubles were to be played in the next decade. The match was closed fought and the Malaysian took the 1st set.

But the match was most remembered for its 2nd set. Liem and Bobby played well in the 2nd set and the match was tight. The Malaysian played a fast and furious game. Cheah would leap high not just to smash but place drop shots. At one stage Liem fell on all fours to retrieve a net shot on the right and Cheah would leap and simultaneously execute a drop on the left that made Bobby falling on all fours too. It did not augur well for the Indonesian with the two payers on the floor. Bobby was so angry that he snatched the mop from the cleaner to mop his own sweat from the floor. Although Liem and Bobby won the 2nd set, the momentum was with the Malaysians and the 3rd set the Malaysian ran home and clinched a place in the final.

INA 2 MAS 3