China reclaimed their Uber Cup glory after clinching the 2024 title with a convincing 3-0 victory over arch-rival Indonesia in the final match in Chengdu today.
It was the China Uber Cup team’s 16th victory since 1984 and today’s win over Indonesia came after 16 years since they last met in Jakarta in the 2008 finals. For Indonesia, it was their 8th time finishing the Uber Cup campaign as runners-up.
Armed with a solid lineup led by Chen Yu Fei and top pair Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan, there is no stopping the Chinese as they stamped their prowess, winning all their encounters perfectly without dropping any ties from Group stages until the knockout stages.
China kept their results intact by winning over Singapore 5-0, Canada 5-0 and India 5-0 in group matches before defeating Denmark 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Japan 3-0 in the semifinals.
The Chinese women’s team were again in top form as Chen Yu Fei, who had won all four matches in the tournament, led the charge with a commanding 21-7, 21-16 win over Gregory Mariska Tunjung in just 38 minutes.
“Mariska is not an easy opponent, she has defeated me before and many other top players. So, my plan was to go out and play the best that I can against her,” said Chen after the match.
China’s top pair Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan, who admitted that this could be their last team event, then widened the gap with another strong performance and unlike their semifinal battle yesterday, were in total control in today’s finale. The world No.1 pair won in a straight game of 21-11, 21-8 over scratch pair Siti Fadia Silva Ramadanthi/Ribka Sugiarto.
It was down to He Bing Jiao to secure the Cup for China but it was not as easy as it was expected to be as Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo resisted hard, dragging the match into a marathon 69-minute battle.
The 27-year-old Bing Jiao, spurred on by the vociferous home fans, kept her winning record intact by coming back from a game down to down the 19-year-old Wardoyo 10-21, 21-15, 21-17 in over an hour duel.
“We’ve prepared hard for this day, to reclaim the Uber Cup and today, we did it at home,” said He.
For Tunjung, reaching the final proved the strength of the Indonesian women’s team and certainly augurs well for their challenge in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, six-time champion Japan and twice winner South Korea settled for the bronze.
The next edition of the biennial tournament is set to take place in Horsens, Denmark in 2026.
