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Badminton-South Korea's Thomas Cup ploy pays off
JAKARTA, May 13 - South Korea's controversial Thomas Cup ploy paid off when they eased into the quarter-finals by outclassing Canada 3-0 in a playoff on Tuesday.
The Koreans now meet Denmark having avoided a possible clash at this stage with mighty China or hosts Indonesia by fielding a weakened team that lost two group games.
The Badminton World Federation said earlier on Tuesday it would consider introducing a new format to prevent a repetition.
But deputy president Punch Gunalan said no rule had been broken, adding: "I don't blame South Korea for fielding a weaker team for their group matches. Any strong team will do it if they have a chance."
South Korean team manager Kim Jong-soo acknowledged the ploy, telling the Chinese Xinhua news agency: "Since the beginning our strategy has always been to face Denmark in the quarter-finals, Indonesia in the semis and China in the final.
"We prefer to face Denmark in the quarter-finals because we are confident we can beat them."
The Koreans lost both their matches on Monday 4-1 after fielding top singles players Lee Hyun-il and Park Sung-huan, world ranked nine and 10, as a doubles pairing against England and leaving them out altogether against Malaysia.
The two defeats meant a playoff on Tuesday with a Canadian team the Koreans knew they could beat and then an easier-looking quarter-final, though Denmark are European champions.
Lee and Park were recalled against Canada in their rightful place as singles players and, as expected, enjoyed easy wins over opponents world ranked 34 and 39.
In other quarter-final action on Wednesday, holders China play Thailand, Indonesia meet England and Malaysia face Japan.
In the Uber Cup for women, China, chasing a sixth successive title, meet the Netherlands, Indonesia face Hong Kong, South Korea play Malaysia and Germany take on Denmark.
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