INDONESIA staged a dramatic comeback to win the men’s team gold after beating defending champions China 3-2 at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi yesterday.
Moh Zaki Ubaidillah emerged as Indonesia’s hero after beating Weng Hongyang 23-21, 21-13 in the deciding fifth match to complete the comeback.
Indonesia had earlier fallen 0-2 behind after Jonatan Christie remained winless in the team event, going down 13-21, 18-21 to Shi Yuqi.
Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri were then unable to bring Indonesia level as they lost 20-22, 21-19, 14-21 to Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
With China one win away from retaining the title, Alwi Farhan kept Indonesia alive by beating Li Shifeng 23-21, 15-21, 21-16.
Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin then levelled the score at 2-2 with a 23-21, 21-10 victory over He Jiting-Liu Yi, setting up the deciding fifth match.
Zaki then sealed the gold for Indonesia.
The victory ended Indonesia’s 28-year wait for the men’s team title, having last won gold at Bangkok 1998 when they also defeated China in the final.
It was also Indonesia’s first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games since the competition began on Sept 19.
The Asian Games gold also went some way towards restoring Indonesia’s pride after a disappointing Thomas Cup Finals campaign in Horsens in April, when they failed to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
For China, it was a bitter pill to swallow as the defeat ended their hopes of becoming the first country to win three consecutive men’s team titles after winning at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.
