JAKARTA: JAPAN put up a stunning show yesterday to upset Taiwan 3-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Uber Cup Finals for the first time in 14 years. The top singles player of the fourth seeded Japan, Kanako Yonekura, exacted sweet revenge over Cheng Shao-chieh 11-5, 11-9 to deliver an important point in their 3-2 win at the Senayan Indoor Stadium in Jakarta. Japan had lost to the third seeded Taiwan 2-3 in the Asian Zone qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur in February. With the win, Japan will take on top seeds China in the semi-finals today. The Chinese team whitewashed Malaysia 5-0 in another quarter-finals tie. The Japanese chief coach, Shuji Matsuno, was overjoyed with his girls' determined performances. “Kanako certainly made the difference for us. She lost to the Taiwanese number one in rubber games at the qualifiers. “This time, she got it right, winning it in straight game,” said Matsuno. “Japan last reached the semi-finals in the 1990 Finals in Tokyo. We are glad to be among the top four teams in the world again. “It will be tough against China but my girls will be out to give them a good fight.” The other Japanese women who won points in the quarter-final tie were the second doubles pair of Shizuka Yamamoto-Kumiko Ogura and third singles player Miho Tanaka. Yamamoto-Ogura defeated Chang Yun-ju-Yang Chia-chen 15-10, 15-10 while Tanaka won the deciding match, beating Huang Chia-hsin 11-5, 11-0. Holland and Indonesia came close to upset wins over Denmark and South Korea respectively in the other quarter-final ties. China-born Yao Jie upset Camilla Martin 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 in the first singles but eventually the Dutch team went down 2-3 to the Danes. Boosted by home support, the Indonesian girls played their hearts out but lost 1-3 to second seeds South Korea. Indonesia stole a point in the third singles through Firdasari Adrianti, who defeated Lee Yun-hwa 11-9, 6-11, 11-7. TheStar
