Indonesia, China reign supreme

The all-conquering Indonesians won an unprecedented fifth successive Thomas Cup badminton crown on Sunday as they shattered Malaysian dreams with a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

The Malaysians had come into the match with high hopes of an upset but could not deny the mighty Indonesians, losing out 2-3 despite setting a 2-1 lead.

In the end it was heartbreak for the challengers at the hands of the champions who have monopolised the prestigious trophy -- the men's world team championship -- since 1994.

World champion Hendrawan was the hero as he outgunned Malaysian veteran Hashim M. Roslin 8-7, 7-2, 7-1 in the final match to clinch the Indonesians' 13th Thomas Cup win and spark wild celebrations.

The opening game of the final had seen a fired-up Malaysian world number five Wong Choong Hann blaze past Indonesian number one Marleve Mainaky 7-5, 7-5, 7-1 in 45 explosive minutes.

Attention then turned to a highly anticipated clash between the two best doubles pairings in the elite eight-team event.

However, it proved to be no contest with the 1997 Indonesian World champions Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto putting on an awesome display to demolish the world number one duo of Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng 7-3, 7-4, 7-2 in a lopsided contest that lasted just 15 minutes.

Indonesia star Taufik Hidayat, however, then lost to Lee Tsuen Seng 1-7, 7-5, 7-2, 2-7, 7-3 in 48 minutes, before Halim Haryanto/Trik Kush Aryanto kept Indonesia's hopes alive with a 7-8, 8-7, 1-7, 3-7 victory over Lee Wan Wah/Choong Tan Fook.

China win Uber Cup

The Chinese women's team won the Uber Cup for the eighth time on Saturday, beating South Korea 3-1 in the final of the tournament.

The Chinese team started badly. losing the opening match -- Zhou Mi, the reigning Japan Open champion, who had won all her matches in this tournament, losing to Kim Kyeung Ran, losing 7-4, 7-3, 3-7, 3-7, 7-5 in the first singles.

But the doubles pair of Gao Ling/Huang Sui, ranked number one in the world, brought them on level terms, beating Kyung Min/Lee Kyung Won 7-4, 2-7, 7-1, 5-7,7-1.

World champion Gong Ruina made it 2-1 for China, beating Kwon Hee Sook 7-3, 7-4, 5-7, 7-3 before Yang Wei/Huang Nanyan disposed off Lee Hyo Jung/Hwang Yu Mi 7-0, 7-2, 7-3 in the final match to seal the victory.