Anna Thea Madsen did the star turn for Denmark, ensuring her team’s defeat of Spain in the TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2016 today.

Madsen’s was the pivotal match in their Uber Cup Group A tie after World champion Carolina Marin had given Spain the lead. Marin struggled but eventually found form in beating Line Kjaersfeldt 21-8 21-23 21-10.

The second singles was the closest match of the day. Beatriz Corrales and Madsen fought toe-to-toe; the Spaniard closed out a 16-19 gap to serve match point. The sequence repeated itself five more times, with Corrales having the opportunity to clinch the match but Madsen desperately keeping herself abreast. After saving the six match points, Madsen (featured image) finally grabbed her own second opportunity, finishing winner at 21-15 14-21 28-26.

“There were some good rallies,” beamed Madsen. “I’m happy that I came back in the third game. It was a tough match, I fought all the way. I managed to stay cool in every single rally and not think about losing. I knew that mine was the key match – and the fact that the coaches chose me meant that they had thought I had a chance, I took that with me into the match.”

From there it was pretty much Denmark’s show. Mia Blichfeldt made it 2-1 beating Clara Azurmendi; Denmark’s two doubles then shut the door on Spain.

Indonesia’s men passed their first big test against strong Hong Kong with flying colours, scoring a 5-0 whitewash.

Thirteen-time champions Indonesia’s campaign to regain the Thomas Cup got off to a good start against a balanced Hong Kong squad in Group B.

It was touch-and-go for Indonesia in their first three matches. Angus Ng Ka Long struck form late against Tommy Sugiarto, holding two game points, but the veteran Indonesian was crafty enough to stop him in his tracks and set his team on their way with a 21-17 22-20 result.

World champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan were under pressure all through from Or Chin Chung and Tang Chun Man. The Indonesians saved two game points in the first and overcame a deficit in the second to make it 2-0 for their team (22-20 22-20).

Jonatan Christie then sealed the tie for Indonesia with a consistent performance against Hu Yun (22-20 21-18).

Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi and Ihsan Maulana Mustofa helped make it a whitewash for Indonesia.

The last session of the day also saw Malaysia beat England 4-1 (Group C, Thomas Cup) and Korea blank USA 5-0 (Group B, Uber Cup).

Results:
Thomas Cup:

Group B: Indonesia bt Hong Kong 5-0; Group C: Malaysia bt England 4-1

Uber Cup:

Group A: Denmark bt Spain 4-1; Korea bt USA 5-0