JAKARTA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea advanced to
Thomas Cup men's badminton final after beating host nation Indonesia 3-0 Friday
night in the semifinal showdown at the Bung Karno Sports Hall here.
South Korea's Park Sung Hwan beat Sony Dwi Kuncoro
21-12, 12-21,21-18. After losing the first game, Indonesian pair Markit
Kido/Hendra Setiawan lost to their South Korean rivals Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong
Dae 19-21, 21-18, 10-21 in the doubles.
South Korean second singles Lee Hyun Il demolished
Taufik Hidayat 21-13, 21-14.
In a news briefing after the match, South Korea's
team manager Kim Jong-Soo said that it is the first time for his team to advance
to Thomas Cup final and "we will try our best to win the championship in the
final".
He said South Korean singles players performed very
well that gave a big psychological boost to their teammates.
The Chinese Thomas Cup squad, which are looking to
retain the trophy for the seventh time, beat Malaysia 3-2 in the badminton
semifinal tournament Friday afternoon and will meet South Korea in the final
scheduled for Sunday.