China stunned in Thomas Cup final as Indonesia end 19-year wait for glory
- Indonesia claim a record-extending 14th title after an almost 20-year wait in 3-0 whitewash of defending champions
Defending champions China were stunned in the final of the Thomas Cup on Sunday night as they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Indonesia in the Aarhus, Denmark showpiece.
It was Asian Games gold medal hero Jonatan Christie who delivered the final blow for Indonesia as the 24-year-old beat China’s rising star Li Shifeng 21-14, 18-21, 21-14 to secure a record-extending 14th title for the event’s most successful nation.
But it was Indonesia’s first title since 2002, with China dominating the Cup with six wins since they last triumphed while Japan and Denmark claimed a win each.
Indonesia got off to a fine start when world number five Anthony Ginting overcame Lu Guangzu in 77 minutes after coming from behind to down the 24-year-old, who was appearing first up as a replacement for Shi Yuqi, who missed out with an ankle injury. Ginting took the opener 18-21, 21-14, 21-16.
Indonesia’s second-choice doubles pairing of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto then put them firmly in the driving seat with a 21-12, 21-19 victory against China’s He Jiting and Zhou Haodong, setting up Christie to take the glory.
“The third game I said, let’s go, let’s play 100 minutes again,” said Christie, who won each of his three singles matches over the last three days. “I just motivated myself. My last match gave me confidence. I was ready for 120 minutes again. This is my biggest achievement, bigger than my Asian Games gold.”
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Prior to the Cup win, Indonesia had twice come close to reclaiming the title, in China in 2010 and in Denmark in 2016, before suffering disappointment in the final.
China’s defeat halted their run at a clean sweep of both the Thomas and Uber Cups for the first time since 2012, after China’s women beat Japan 3-1 on Sunday to claim the Uber Cup.
