1979 Thomas Cup

Last updated
1979 Thomas Cup
Piala Thomas 1979
Tournament details
Dates24 May – 2 June 1979
Edition11th
LevelInternational
Nations5
Venue Istora Senayan
Location Jakarta, Indonesia
← 1976 1982 →

The 1979 Thomas Cup was the 11th edition of the Thomas Cup competition, the world championship of men's international team badminton. The final rounds contested by qualifying zone winners and defending champions Indonesia were held at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia in late May and early June. First played in 1948–49, the Thomas Cup competition was held every three years until 1982, and since then has been held every two years.

Contents

Indonesia won its seventh title after beating Denmark in the final round.

Qualification

21 teams from 4 regions took part in the competition. As defending champion, Indonesia skipped the Qualifications and the first round, and played directly in the second round (semifinal) of the Inter-Zone Ties.

Means of qualificationDateVenueSlotQualified teams
1976 Thomas Cup 25 May – 5 June 1976 Bangkok 1Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
Asian Zone24–25 February 1979 Kuala Lumpur 1Flag of India.svg  India
American Zone13 January 1979 – 28 February 1979 Lima
Ottawa 		1Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
European Zone19 October 1978 – 18 February 1979 Brussels
Carlisle
Haarlem
Heerlen
Oslo
Sunderland
Umeå 		1Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Australasian Zone27 August – 24 September 1978 Invercargill
Perth 		1Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
Total5

Political disputes played a significant role in the 1978–1979 Thomas Cup series. Though the People's Republic of China had been producing players of astonishing ability[ according to whom? ] since the mid-1960s, its entry into the International Badminton Federation (now the Badminton World Federation) had been delayed for years over the Taiwan issue. In 1978 the PRC took the step of fostering a rival international badminton organization and running its own version of a world championship (for individual players) in 1979.

The Asian zone all but disappeared in the political upheaval, as four national teams, including traditionally strong Thailand, either withdrew or were scratched from the competition. This left only India to visit Malaysia in a replay of their 1976 tie (team match), which Malaysia had won after trailing 1–4. Those young Malaysians had gone on to reach the tournament final but none had since developed into true world-class stars. Thus India, on the strength of three wins by Prakash Padukone, was able to avenge its 1976 loss in another extremely close contest (5–4) and win the Asian zone for the first time since 1955. [1]

Competing in the Australasian zone for the first time since the 1966-1967 series, Japan encountered strong opposition from host New Zealand but survived 5–4. It was Richard Purser's sixth Thomas Cup campaign for the Kiwis. The Japanese then went on to shut out Australia in the zone final, despite some close matches. [2]

In the European Zone, England could not take advantage of a fine performance by Ray Stevens (winning only matches where he participated), and went down to Sweden 3–6. The Swedes, however, were beaten in the final for the fourth consecutive time by Denmark 2–7. It was the last of five occasions in which Denmark's Svend Pri and Sweden's Sture Johnsson played on opposite sides of a Thomas Cup tie, though they did not play directly against each other this time. Young Morten Frost for Denmark and Thomas Kihlstrom for Sweden were the leading performers in the contest. [1] [3]

The fallout over these developments reached into the Pan American zone of Thomas Cup which Taiwan (Republic of China) had entered. Drawing Mexico, Taiwan agreed to drop out of the competition when the Mexican Association protested against its entry. Mexico then defaulted the zone final to Canada [4] which, effectively, won the zone by squeezing past the USA in the semifinal 5–4. In nine Thomas Cup meetings between Canada and the United States it was the first time in which no player over 30 participated in the tie. [5]

Squads

Knockout stage

The following teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1979 Thomas Cup. Defending champion and host Indonesia automatically qualified to defend their title.

Bracket

 
 First round Second round Challenge round
 
          
 
 
 
 
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
 
28 May 1979 – Jakarta
 
Bye
 
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 9
 
24 May 1979 – Jakarta
 
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 0
 
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1
 
1 June 1979 – Jakarta
 
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 8
 
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 9
 
 
 
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 0
 
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
 
26 May 1979 – Jakarta
 
Bye
 
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 7
 
 
 
Flag of India.svg  India 2
 
Bye
 
 
Flag of India.svg  India
 

First round

24 May 1979 (1979-05-24)
25 May 1979 (1979-05-25)
Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 1–8 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
Report
Istora Senayan, Indonesia

Second round

26 May 1979 (1979-05-26)
27 May 1979 (1979-05-27)
Denmark  Flag of Denmark.svg 7–2 Flag of India.svg  India
Report
Istora Senayan, Indonesia
28 May 1979 (1979-05-28)
29 May 1979 (1979-05-29)
Indonesia  Flag of Indonesia.svg 9–0 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
Report
Istora Senayan, Indonesia

Final

Though probably not anticipated at the time, this was the final Thomas Cup appearance of the great Indonesian doubles team of Tjun Tjun and Johan Wahjudi, Tjun Tjun being unbeaten in three campaigns which included an appearance in singles. His equally illustrious contemporary, Christian Hadinata, would play in three more series (through 1986) and lose only one match in his Thomas Cup career. Hartono would play in one more series (1981-1982), the first in which Indonesia's great rival China would finally compete. As for Svend Pri, this was his final Thomas Cup tie and the only one in which he failed to win at least one match.

1 June 1979 (1979-06-01)
2 June 1979 (1979-06-02)
Indonesia  Flag of Indonesia.svg 9–0 Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Report
Istora Senayan, Indonesia
 1979 Thomas Cup winner 
Flag of Indonesia.svg
Indonesia
Seventh title

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The knockout stage for the 1967 Thomas Cup began on 31 May 1967 with the first-round knockout and ended on 10 June with the final tie.

The knockout stage for the 1973 Thomas Cup began on 25 May 1973 with the first-round knockout and ended on 3 June with the final tie.

The knockout stage for the 1976 Thomas Cup began on 25 May 1976 with the first-round knockout and ended on 5 June with the final tie.

The knockout stage for the 1979 Thomas Cup began on 24 May 1979 with the first-round knockout and ended on 2 June with the final tie.

References

  1. 1 2 "Thomas Cup Results", World Badminton, May 1979, 8.
  2. ↑ "Thomas Cup Draw," World Badminton, January 1979, 12.
  3. ↑ Davis, 126.
  4. ↑ Pat Davis. The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 126.
  5. ↑ "Thomas Cup Semi-final Match," Badminton USA, January 1979.
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