The Indonesian Team is Heading for the Thomas and Uber Cup with the Target of Winning

The Indonesian team went to Chengdu, China, to compete in the Thomas and Uber Cup events. Thomas' team is targeted to win.

KOMPAS

Jonatan Christie became the champion of the 2024 Asia Badminton Championship. Along with Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Jonatan is a key player in Indonesia's attempt to win the Thomas Cup in Chengdu, China. The Indonesian team departed for Chengdu in the early hours of Wednesday (24/4/2024) Western Indonesian Time.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS —The Indonesian badminton team left for Chengdu, China, early Wednesday (24/4/2024) to compete in the men's and women's team championships, Thomas and Uber Cup . Becoming Thomas Cup champions and Uber Cup semifinalists is the target of "Red and White" with full strength material.

The Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 will be held in Chengdu from April 27 to May 5. This event has been held regularly every two years since 1984 after previously being a three-year championship.

Indonesia qualified the men's team for the Thomas-Uber finals in Chengdu as the Asian team with the best ranking. The women's team qualified because they were semifinalists in the Asian Team Championship in Malaysia in February, which was also a qualifier for the Thomas-Uber Cup in the Asian zone. The men's team qualified based on ranking because they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the same championship so they could not fulfill the requirements to be among the four best teams.

However, for the final round, the target of winning the Thomas Cup was pinned by PP PBSI because the Red and White were strengthened by the best players. In singles, the All England champions and finalists, namely Jonatan Christie and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, were again the mainstay. As for men's doubles, All England champions Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto are the backbone of the team.

"Indonesia will be champion in 2020 and runner-up in 2022. Hopefully this year we can bring the Thomas Cup back to Indonesia. "The condition is that fellow athletes must be in really good condition and appear Spartan," said Head of the PP PBSI Achievement Development Division Ricky Soebagdja.

HUMAS PP PBSI

Anthony Sinisuka Ginting when appearing at the Asian Badminton Championships against Li Shi Feng in China, Friday (12/4/2024).

As for the women's team, Ricky said that the semifinals were a realistic target. The indicators are the good performance of Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the BWF tournament, as well as the championship titles won by Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto and Rachel Alessya Rose/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari in the BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament in Europe in March.

Indonesia became the champion in 2020 and the runner-up in 2022. Hopefully this year, we can bring the Thomas Cup back home to the Motherland.

However, before discussing further stages, Indonesia must first go through the group stage elimination. The Thomas Cup team will face tough competitors in Group C as they are joined by India, Thailand, and England. India is the reigning champion who defeated Indonesia 0-3 in the 2022 Thomas Cup final.

Also read: Dividing the Focus of the Thomas-Uber Cup and the Olympics

Thailand is a team that always steals victory in one or two matches every time they meet Indonesia in the group phase since 2014. England also cannot be underestimated because they have a men's doubles pair that always troubles Indonesian players, namely Ben Lane/Sean Vendy. In addition, the European team is also known for its compactness in the team event.

Meanwhile, Gregoria and her colleagues will take on Japan, Hong Kong, and Uganda in Group C. In the last six editions, the Indonesian women's team has always been stopped in the quarterfinals.

The Thomas and Uber Cup group stages were attended by 16 teams divided into four groups. They compete in a round robin format to become the top two teams in each group as a condition for qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Also read: Alwi Farhan Entered the Indonesian Thomas Cup Team

The Secretary General of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) who is also the head of the Paris 2024 Olympic Ad Hoc Team, Fadil Imran, hopes that athletes can take advantage of the momentum since the All England tournament. After winning two championship titles at the prestigious tournament, Indonesia also won the championship title at the Asian Championships through Jonatan.

HUMAS PP PBSI

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung performed against Chen Yu Fei at the Asian Badminton Championship in China on Friday (12/4/2024). Gregoria became Indonesia's mainstay in the Uber Cup held in China.

Fadil also hopes that a strong sense of togetherness can be built within the team because the atmosphere of team competition is different from individual championships. Another important thing emphasized is the ranking points that can increase so that Indonesian players who qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics can become seeded players.

The Indonesian men's team will play their first match against England on Saturday starting at 5:00 PM WIB. On the same day, starting at 12:00 PM WIB, the women's team will face Hong Kong. The group stage must play all matches, which are three singles and two doubles matches.