China failed to make the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup for only the second time since their debut in 1982, falling to Indonesia in a repeat of the last Thomas Cup final. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who had lost all his three previous matches this week, finally showed spark in an 80-minute long opening brawl with Zhao Jun Peng, during which he missed three match points in the second game. Both teams made key changes to their line-up heading into the match, with China opting to send Zhao to battle against Indonesia’s firebrand Ginting instead of top-ranked Lu Guangzu. Zhao put on an epic struggle in the second set to tie the match, but his last-ditch efforts fell short in the third and lost by 21-12, 25-27 and 21-17. In the doubles match, the combination of Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Mohammad Ahsan, ranked first and second respectively in the world, proved too good for the Chinese duo Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi. With their Thomas Cup hopes in tatters, Denmark pulled off a remarkable turnaround against Korea from three match points down. The Danes were 1-2 down when Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Frederik Søgaard faced three match points against Choi Sol Gyu/Kim Won Ho, but staged the unlikely escape to level the tie. Rasmus Gemke then took them into the semi-finals beating Kim Yun Gyu, a player ranked 591 places below him. “They made it difficult for us and we made a heroic comeback in the second,” Rasmussen said. “We found an extra gear. We really enjoy these team events with all our teammates and staff going crazy, so really a huge performance by the whole team.” In the women’s Uber Cup, defending champions China thumped a young Indonesian team 3-0, with the first two matches over in straight sets. Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei beat Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi 21-12 21-11, while in the doubles match Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan stormed past Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi 21-19 21-16. China will face hosts Thailand, who recorded a 3-0 win over India in the quarter-finals.