Thomas Cup: Denmark beat China for the first time in 24 years to climb to the top of Group B ladder
- China’s men’s badminton team fell short of expectations in an epic Thomas Cup battle against Denmark, which lasted more than six hours
- ‘It was really a symbolic win that we could defeat China,’ said world No 21 Vittinghus. ‘We don’t do that too often’
It was a day of upsets at Thailand’s Thomas and Uber Cup on Wednesday, with defending champions China falling to Denmark over an epic six hour group match.
World No 21 Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus revelled in his role as fifth match specialist once again, taking Denmark past China to the top of Group B. It was only the third victory ever for Denmark over China in a team event.
The Danes had to claw their way back from 1-2 down after losing the first doubles and second singles. Scratch pair Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard got them level, and Vittinghus once again stepped up, taking on Korea Open champion Weng Hong Yang.
The craft and experience of the 36-year-old were very much in evidence as he denied the lanky left-hander the pace at which he could have been dangerous. Weng found few opportunities to unleash his fearsome smashes, and Vittinghus nailed the tie with the 16-21 21-19 21-18 result.
“I wasn’t feeling too tired, the adrenaline was pumping,” Vittinghus said.
“I’m not sure how many Thomas Cup matches I have left in me, so I really wanted to enjoy this one and give it everything. For us, it was really a symbolic win that we could defeat China. We don’t do that too often, it’s the third time ever. We haven’t beaten them for 24 years. It’s important to show that we can beat them.”
In Group D, Malaysia proved too strong for Japan, led by an unstoppable doubles team.