Indonesia Wins First Thomas Cup in 19 Years

KOMPAS.com – Indonesia won the Thomas Cup for the first time in 19 years after defeating China 3-0 in Sunday’s final at Ceres Arena, Aarhus, Denmark on October 17.

Anthony Sinisuka Ginting secured a 18-21 21-14 21-16 win over Lu Guangzu in the opening match.

Indonesian badminton duo Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto won in the first doubles match of the afternoon with a 21-12 21-19 victory over He Ji Ting and Zhou Hao Dong.

This was followed by the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Jonatan Christie who secured a 21-14 18-21 21-13 win over Li Shi Feng after competing for an hour and 22 minutes.

Also read: Indonesia Takes Gold in Womens Badminton at Tokyo Olympics

However, this historic victory caused a reaction back home because during the awards ceremony the flag of Indonesia was not flown and was replaced by the logo of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI). This was due to the sanctions imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Indonesia. According to WADA, Indonesia does not comply with anti-doping procedures or the Test Doping Plan (TDP) program. Besides, WADA has also prevented Indonesia from hosting sporting events.

PBSI’s International Relations division head Bambang Roedyanto explained the sanctions.

“We cannot bid to host the World Championships, Asian Games, SEA Games, World Junior Championships, Thomas and Uber Cups, as well as Sudirman Cup,” Bambang Roedyanto told Kompas.com on Sunday, October 17.

Also read: Indonesian Badminton Team Return Home after All England Open Exclusion

Previously, Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said that he was also aware of the sanction. He said that this was because Indonesia could not fulfill the 2020 and 2021 doping test samples required by WADA following the suspension of sports activities in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is true that we received a letter from WADA [in September] and were deemed non-compliant. However, according to what WADA has stated in the letter, we have time to clarify the matter in about 21 days,” Zainudin Amali told a virtual press conference on Friday, October 8.

(Writer: Farahdilla Puspa | Editor: Eris Eka Jaya)

Source: https://www.kompas.com/badminton/read/2021/10/18/04565668/ketika-indonesia-juara-piala-thomas-2020-tanpa-bendera-merah-putih?page=all#page2.