CHENGDU, May 6 – China lived up to expectations as they bagged their 11th Thomas Cup titles by defeating 14-time champions, Indonesia, 3-1, in this edition’s final at the Chengdu High-Tech Zone Sports Centre, on Sunday.
This came just hours after China claimed their 16th Uber Cup title as they blew Indonesia away, 3-0, at the same venue.
World number two men’s singles shuttler, Shi Yu Qi drew first blood as he thumped Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, 21-17 in the first set, and was a class above the Indonesian in the second, marching to a 21-6 victory.
Buoyed by a convincing start from Yu Qi, world number one pair Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang came out tops in a challenging 64-minute contest against 2024 All England champions Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 to bolster the hosts’ lead.
However, Indonesia reduced the deficit as the in-form Jonatan Christie triumphed in a rigorous battle against the 2022 Asian Games men’s singles champion, Li Shi Feng, 21-16, 15-21, 21-17, to rekindle hope for his country.
Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana took to the court against He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu in the second doubles hoping to beat the China pair and take the tie into a decider.
The Indonesians, however, fell short as the China pair won 21-11, 21-15, much to the delight of the packed partisan home crowd.
