The 1961 Thomas Cup competition is an international team tournament for supremacy in men's badminton (Its female counterpart is the

Uber Cup The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contes ...

). Beginning in 1948–49 it was held every three years until

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and thereafter every two years. Nineteen teams, eighteen of them starting from four regional qualifying zones, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and Pan America, contested for the Thomas Cup during the 1960-1961 seasons. Zone winners then played-off in Jakarta, Indonesia for the right to face defending champion

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(exempt from all earlier ties), in a conclusive challenge round. For a more detailed description of the Thomas Cup format, see Wikipedia's general article on the

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 (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

. This was the first ever international multi-sport event hosted by Indonesia, who was only 15 years old at the time. The venue was the

Istora Gelora Bung Karno Gelora Bung Karno Sports Palace ( id, Istana Olahraga Gelora Bung Karno, abbreviated as ''Istora''), the formerly name ''Istora Senayan'' is an indoor sporting arena located in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia. The capacity of ...

, which was only opened on 11 days before the tournament.

Intra-zone summary

Despite missing its best known singles player,

Charoen Wattanasin Charoen Wattanasin () (born 1937) is a former badminton player from Thailand who won international championships in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Career Between 1958 and 1962 Wattanasin captured the open men's singles titles of Malaya, Ire ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

again prevailed in the Asian zone by beating, consecutively, India (6–3), three time former champion Malaya (7–2), and Pakistan (8–1). Of note in these ties, the talented Nandu Natekar had a hand in all of the individual matches which India salvaged, while Malaya's Eddie Choong, well past his prime at a fairly young age, was routinely beaten in both of his singles. No player on Thailand's team was more than twenty-four years old. For the second straight time Japan defaulted an Australasian zone tie, this time allowing

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, led by Kenneth Turner, to advance to the inter-zone phase after its 8–1 victory over New Zealand. Star-studded

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

coasted through three ties in the European zone, shutting out its usual victim England in the zone final. The same two-way

American zone Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

race ended as before with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

beating Canada 7–2. Evergreen Joe Alston and Wynn Rogers still led the way in doubles for the USA which also had a small but competent cadre of international level singles players.

Inter-zone playoffs

;

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

(exempt until challenge round) ;

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

;

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

;

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

The inter-zone playoffs in Jakarta began on the first two days of June with Thailand beating Australia without the loss of a match or a game. Denmark then defeated the USA 7–2, but even in victory Danish problems with the heat and humidity were evident as players hailed by some as the best in the world often struggled against less talented opponents who, as Californians, were more accustomed to hot gymnasiums. The Danes' contest against Thailand fully demonstrated this weakness. A team entirely composed of either past, present, or future All-England champions was decisively beaten by a team composed of players who would never win that individual honor.

Erland Kops Erland Kops (14 January 1937 – 18 February 2017) was a badminton player from Denmark who won numerous major international singles and doubles titles from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Early life Kops was born in 1937. His uncles were ...

and Finn Kobbero defeated the Thai number two Somsook Boonyasukhanonda comfortably, but both were beaten by young

Channarong Ratanaseangsuang Channarong Ratanaseangsuang (born 1939), also known as Ratana, is a former badminton player and coach who represented both Thailand and Canada in international competition. Career With a game marked by impressive mobility and consistency, during ...

. Most shockingly, the famous doubles team of Kobbero and Hammergaard Hansen was beaten by both Thai pairs who swept all four doubles matches. Thus Thailand completed its run to the challenge round with an impressive 7–2 victory over Denmark.

First round

Final round

Challenge round

The task of beating a strong Indonesian team in Jakarta's Senayan Stadiam was possibly rendered even more difficult for Thailand when "neutral" officials and linesmen failed to arrive from Malaya. As they had done three years earlier in Singapore, the Indonesians swept all five singles matches. Ratanaseangsuang was unable to produce the consistency he had displayed against Kops and Kobbero and lost tamely to Indonesia's

Tan Joe Hok Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

and

Ferry Sonneville Ferdinand Alexander "Ferry" Sonneville (3 January 1931 – 20 November 2003) was an Indonesian badminton player noted for his touch, consistency, tactical astuteness, and coolness under pressure. He won numerous international singles titles fr ...

. Boonyasukhanonda was simply not in the class of the two Indonesians, whose careers would be hallmarked by their Thomas Cup brilliance. The Thai doubles pairs played quite well, particularly the team of Narong Bhornchima and Raphi Kanchanaraphi who won both of their matches. Doubles victories were not enough, however, as Indonesia retained the Cup 6–3.

References

tangkis.tripod.com

*Herbert Scheele, The ''International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967'' (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 82. *Pat Davis, The ''Guinness Book of Badminton'' (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlative Ltd., 1983). 122. {{TUC

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