1970 Thomas Cup
Encyclopedia
The 1970 Thomas Cup was the 8th tournament of Thomas Cup
, the most important men's badminton
team competition in the world. The final set of ties (team matches) were held in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia.
Indonesia
won its fourth title after beating Malaysia
in the Final Round.
Australasian Zone
Asian Zone
European Zone
Panamerican Zone
three victories. Three wins by Jamie Paulson
were also instrumental in Canada's first ever victory (6–3) over the USA in the Pan American zone.
The greatest drama came in the Asian Zone which contained several of the strongest teams in the entire competition. Indonesia, fighting to regain the cup that it had relinquished in 1967, began its quest by defeating India (7-2). It then became embroiled in yet another highly controversial tie, but this time one in which Indonesia, rather than its opponent nation, claimed to be the victim of partisanship. Facing Thailand in Bangkok, up three matches to two, Indonesia removed its player (Muljadi
) from the court during the first game of the sixth match and refused to continue. Though Thailand was initially awarded the tie, 6-3, the IBF
upheld an Indonesian protest and ordered the tie to be continued, at three matches each in Japan, where the zone final was scheduled to be played. When Thailand refused to comply, Indonesia was awarded the match (6-3). In the zone final Indonesia faced a Japanese team which boasted one of the strongest lineups of singles players (Ippei Kojima
, Masao Akiyama, and Junji Honma) in the tournament. Indonesia finally prevailed (5-4), largely because of Rudy Hartono's
four victories.
, highly critical of the IBF's (BWF's) decision to sustain Indonesia's protest against Thailand (see Intra-zone summary above), declined to play in further Thomas Cup contests. For reasons less clear, Denmark's top singles player Svend Pri
was also unavailable. Nevertheless, Malaysia had great difficulty against a group of opponents who seemed to be less affected by the tropical heat and humidity than previous Danish squads had been. Playing first singles for Denmark, the talented Elo Hansen
stunned both Tan Aik Huang
and "Punch" Gunalan
in straight game, while the veteran Henning Borch
outlasted Abdul Rahman in the third singles match. Malaysia managed to scrape home 5–4 by taking three of the four doubles matches and both singles against the Danish number two. Gunalan atoned for his loss to Hansen by decisively winning his remaining singles and doubles.
In the other half of the draw, Indonesia, having barely survived the Asian zone qualification, coasted through two ties against first time inter-zone participants. It beat New Zealand without the loss of a match or a game, and Canada with almost equal ease. In eight singles games against Rudy Hartono
and Muljadi
, Canada's Jamie Paulson
and Wayne MacDonnell could aggregate only 21 points.
and extended Rudy Hartono to three games in the fifth match of the tie, but the potential three wins that might have been expected from Gunalan's racket did not materialize. Indonesia regained the title by a final score of 7–2, in one of the very few Thomas Cup occasions that a team has had much more difficulty in qualifying for the final set of ties than in winning it. Once again, Hartono won all four of his matches.
Thomas Cup
The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation , the sport's global governing body...
, the most important men's badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
team competition in the world. The final set of ties (team matches) were held in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia.
Indonesia
Indonesia national badminton team
The Indonesia national badminton team represents Indonesia in international badminton team competitions and is controlled by the Persatuan Bulutangkis Seluruh Indonesia, PBSI , the governing body for badminton in Indonesia...
won its fourth title after beating Malaysia
Malaysia national badminton team
The Malaysia national badminton team is a badminton team that plays for Malaysia in international competitions. The men's team has enjoyed immense success, having won the Thomas Cup five times, most recently in 1992...
in the Final Round.
Teams
25 teams took part in the competition, 3 of them in the Australasian Zone, 8 in the Asian Zone, 9 in the European Zone and 5 in the Pan American Zone. As defending champion, Malaysia received a bye through the zone qualifications and the first round of Inter-zone ties, and played directly in the second round of inter-zone ties (the semifinal round of the entire tournament).Australasian Zone
Asian Zone
European Zone
Panamerican Zone
First round
| 8–1 | Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
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| bye |
Final round
| 7–2 | Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
Asian zone
| 9–0 | Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
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| 9–0 | Bangkok Bangkok Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom... , Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... |
| 9–0 | Colombo Colombo Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo... , Ceylon |
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| 7–2 | Jaipur Jaipur Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million.... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
| 6–3 | Bangkok Bangkok Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom... , Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... |
Final round
| 5–4 | Kyoto Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
First round
| 5–4 | Ballymena Ballymena Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census.... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
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| 7–2 | Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
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| 7–2 | Bracknell Bracknell Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
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| bye |
Second round
| 9–0 | Ballymena Ballymena Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census.... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
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| 9–0 | Wells Wells Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Third round
| 7–2 | Haarlem Haarlem Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic... , Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
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| 6–3 | Blackburn, England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Final round
| 8–1 | Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region... , Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
First round
| 8–1 | Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... , Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... |
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Second round
| 7–2 | San Diego, United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| WO |
Final round
| 6–3 | Calgary Calgary Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Summary of qualification (Intra-zone) ties
New Zealand, led by the Purser brothers, Richard and Bryan, won the Australasian Zone for the first time by beating Australia (8-1) and Singapore (7-2). Denmark once again prevailed in the European Zone. Its closest tie came in the zone semifinal against England which the Danes won six matches to three, thanks largely to Svend Pri'sSvend Pri
Svend Pri was a badminton player from Denmark who won numerous major titles from the mid 1960's through the mid 1970's. His play was marked by great power, tenacity, and tactical astuteness...
three victories. Three wins by Jamie Paulson
Jamie Paulson
Jamie Paulson is a former Canadian badminton player who won national and international titles from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. In 1970 he won the men's singles at the quadrennial British Commonwealth Games making him the only Canadian yet to do so. He finished second in the same event in 1974...
were also instrumental in Canada's first ever victory (6–3) over the USA in the Pan American zone.
The greatest drama came in the Asian Zone which contained several of the strongest teams in the entire competition. Indonesia, fighting to regain the cup that it had relinquished in 1967, began its quest by defeating India (7-2). It then became embroiled in yet another highly controversial tie, but this time one in which Indonesia, rather than its opponent nation, claimed to be the victim of partisanship. Facing Thailand in Bangkok, up three matches to two, Indonesia removed its player (Muljadi
Muljadi
Muljadi is a former world class badminton player who represented Indonesia between 1963 and 1973. Muljadi's career spanned two separate eras of Indonesian domination of the then triennial Thomas Cup competition: 1958 to 1964 and 1970 to 1979...
) from the court during the first game of the sixth match and refused to continue. Though Thailand was initially awarded the tie, 6-3, the IBF
IBF
IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...
upheld an Indonesian protest and ordered the tie to be continued, at three matches each in Japan, where the zone final was scheduled to be played. When Thailand refused to comply, Indonesia was awarded the match (6-3). In the zone final Indonesia faced a Japanese team which boasted one of the strongest lineups of singles players (Ippei Kojima
Ippei Kojima
Ippei Kojima is a former Japanese badminton player who won a record eight Japanese national men's singles titles and some major international titles between the mid 1960s and the mid 1970s. His game was marked by exceptional foot speed, great tenacity, and power surprising for a man who was about...
, Masao Akiyama, and Junji Honma) in the tournament. Indonesia finally prevailed (5-4), largely because of Rudy Hartono's
Rudy Hartono
Rudy Hartono Kurniawan , born August 18, 1949) is a former Chinese Indonesian badminton player who won the men's singles title at the World Championship in 1980, and the prestigious All-England Championship trophy eight times, seven times consecutively , in the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of the...
four victories.
Inter-zone playoffs
Prior to the 1969-1970 Thomas Cup series the defending champion nation had been exempt from earlier play, needing only to defeat a challenger in a single, conclusive challenge round tie. Beginning with this series, however, the defending champion received a bye only to an inter-zone semifinal tie, needing to win this contest and the inter-zone final in order to retain the Cup. Malaysia, defending its title at home in Kuala Lumpur, drew a Danish team which was missing two of its leading "regulars." The veteran Erland KopsErland Kops
Erland Kops is a former badminton player from Denmark who won numerous major international singles and doubles titles from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Kops was the first Westerner to win major singles titles in the Far East. He combined abundant speed, power, and stamina with impressive...
, highly critical of the IBF's (BWF's) decision to sustain Indonesia's protest against Thailand (see Intra-zone summary above), declined to play in further Thomas Cup contests. For reasons less clear, Denmark's top singles player Svend Pri
Svend Pri
Svend Pri was a badminton player from Denmark who won numerous major titles from the mid 1960's through the mid 1970's. His play was marked by great power, tenacity, and tactical astuteness...
was also unavailable. Nevertheless, Malaysia had great difficulty against a group of opponents who seemed to be less affected by the tropical heat and humidity than previous Danish squads had been. Playing first singles for Denmark, the talented Elo Hansen
Elo Hansen
Elo Hansen is a retired male badminton player from Denmark who won international titles in all three events from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s.-Career:...
stunned both Tan Aik Huang
Tan Aik Huang
Tan Aik Huang is a retired Malaysian Chinese badminton player noted for his superb footwork and patience.He won the All England Open Badminton Championships, then considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships, in men's singles in 1966, defeating Japan's Masao Akiyama in the finals...
and "Punch" Gunalan
Punch Gunalan
Datuk Punch Gunalan is a former male badminton star of Malaysia and one of the finest combination doubles and singles players that the country has ever produced....
in straight game, while the veteran Henning Borch
Henning Borch
Henning Borch is a former world class badminton player from Denmark who won major tournaments from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. In the 1964 Borch reached the men's singles final at the prestigious All-England Championships, narrowly losing to fellow countryman Knud Aage Nielsen...
outlasted Abdul Rahman in the third singles match. Malaysia managed to scrape home 5–4 by taking three of the four doubles matches and both singles against the Danish number two. Gunalan atoned for his loss to Hansen by decisively winning his remaining singles and doubles.
In the other half of the draw, Indonesia, having barely survived the Asian zone qualification, coasted through two ties against first time inter-zone participants. It beat New Zealand without the loss of a match or a game, and Canada with almost equal ease. In eight singles games against Rudy Hartono
Rudy Hartono
Rudy Hartono Kurniawan , born August 18, 1949) is a former Chinese Indonesian badminton player who won the men's singles title at the World Championship in 1980, and the prestigious All-England Championship trophy eight times, seven times consecutively , in the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of the...
and Muljadi
Muljadi
Muljadi is a former world class badminton player who represented Indonesia between 1963 and 1973. Muljadi's career spanned two separate eras of Indonesian domination of the then triennial Thomas Cup competition: 1958 to 1964 and 1970 to 1979...
, Canada's Jamie Paulson
Jamie Paulson
Jamie Paulson is a former Canadian badminton player who won national and international titles from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. In 1970 he won the men's singles at the quadrennial British Commonwealth Games making him the only Canadian yet to do so. He finished second in the same event in 1974...
and Wayne MacDonnell could aggregate only 21 points.
First round
| 9–0 |
Second round
| 9–0 | ||
| 5–4 |
Final round
Malaysia's struggle on its home courts against Denmark had boded badly for its chances against Indonesia, but the relative ease of Indonesia's victory in the final still surprised many observers. Indonesia captured five of the first six matches, including all four at the first two singles positions, to wrest the Cup from Malaysia. Though "Punch" Gunalan was Malaysia's strongest all-around player at this time, he was also (at the comparatively late age of 26) a Thomas Cup rookie, and nerves may have played a role in his tame lead-off loss to the veteran Muljadi. He won the first of his doubles matches with the redoubtable Ng Boon BeeNg Boon Bee
Ng Boon Bee is a former Malaysian badminton player who won numerous international doubles titles from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. In combination, first, with Tan Yee Khan and later with Punch Gunalan he won open men's doubles events in Malaysia, Indonesia, Denmark, Germany, Canada, and...
and extended Rudy Hartono to three games in the fifth match of the tie, but the potential three wins that might have been expected from Gunalan's racket did not materialize. Indonesia regained the title by a final score of 7–2, in one of the very few Thomas Cup occasions that a team has had much more difficulty in qualifying for the final set of ties than in winning it. Once again, Hartono won all four of his matches.
| 1970 Thomas Cup Champions |
|---|
| Fourth title |