The 1970 Thomas Cup was the eighth tournament of Thomas Cup, the most important men's badminton team competition in the world. The final set of ties (team matches) were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1970 Thomas Cup
Piala Thomas 1970
Tournament details
Dates28 May – 6 June 1970
Edition8th
LevelInternational
Nations5
VenueStadium Negara
LocationKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1967 1973

Indonesia won its fourth title after beating Malaysia in the final round.[1][2][3]

Qualification

edit
Means of qualification Date Venue Slot Qualified teams
1967 Thomas Cup 31 May – 10 June 1967 Jakarta 1   Malaysia
Asian Zone 23 October 1969 – 26 February 1970 Bangkok
Colombo
Hong Kong
Jaipur
Kyoto
1   Indonesia
American Zone 16 November 1969 – 22 March 1970 Calgary
Lima
San Diego
1   Canada
European Zone 30 October 1969 – 5 April 1970 Ballymena
Blackburn
Bracknell
Copenhagen
Gothenburg
Haarlem
Wells
1   Denmark
Australasian Zone 29 July – 13 September 1969 Christchurch
Melbourne
1   New Zealand
Total 5

25 teams took part in the competition, 3 of them in the Australasian Zone, 8 in the Asian Zone, 9 in the European Zone and 5 in the Pan American Zone. As defending champion, Malaysia received a bye through the zone qualifications and the first round of Inter-zone ties, and played directly in the second round of inter-zone ties (the semifinal round of the entire tournament).

New Zealand, led by the Purser brothers, Richard and Bryan, won the Australasian Zone for the first time by beating Australia (8-1) and Singapore (7-2). Denmark again prevailed in the European Zone. Its closest tie came in the zone semifinal against England which the Danes won six matches to three, thanks largely to Svend Pri's three victories. Three wins by Jamie Paulson were also instrumental in Canada's first ever victory (6–3) over the USA in the Pan American zone.

The greatest drama came in the Asian Zone which contained several of the strongest teams in the entire competition. Indonesia, fighting to regain the cup that it had relinquished in 1967, began its quest by defeating India (7-2). It then became embroiled in yet another highly controversial tie, but this time one in which Indonesia, rather than its opponent nation, claimed to be the victim of partisanship. Facing Thailand in Bangkok, up three matches to two, Indonesia removed its player (Muljadi) from the court during the first game of the sixth match and refused to continue. Though Thailand was initially awarded the tie, 6-3, the IBF upheld an Indonesian protest and ordered the tie to be continued, at three matches each in Japan, where the zone final was scheduled to be played. When Thailand refused to comply, Indonesia was awarded the match (6-3). In the zone final Indonesia faced a Japanese team which boasted one of the strongest lineups of singles players (Ippei Kojima, Masao Akiyama, and Junji Honma) in the tournament. Indonesia finally prevailed (5-4), largely because of Rudy Hartono's four victories.

Squads

edit

Knockout stage

edit

The following teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1970 Thomas Cup. Defending champion and host Malaysia automatically qualified to defend their title.

Bracket

edit
 
First roundSecond roundChallenge round
 
          
 
 
 
 
  Canada
 
1 June 1970 – Kuala Lumpur
 
Bye
 
  Canada0
 
28 May 1970 – Kuala Lumpur
 
  Indonesia9
 
  New Zealand0
 
5 June 1970 – Kuala Lumpur
 
  Indonesia9
 
  Indonesia7
 
 
 
  Malaysia2
 
  Malaysia
 
30 May 1970 – Kuala Lumpur
 
Bye
 
  Malaysia5
 
 
 
  Denmark4
 
Bye
 
 
  Denmark
 

First round

edit
28 May 1970 (1970-05-28)
29 May 1970 (1970-05-29)
Indonesia   9–0   New Zealand
Report
Stadium Negara, Malaysia

Second round

edit
30 May 1970 (1970-05-30)
31 May 1970 (1970-05-31)
Malaysia   5–4   Denmark
Report
Stadium Negara, Malaysia
1 June 1970 (1970-06-01)
2 June 1970 (1970-06-02)
Indonesia   9–0   Canada
Report
Stadium Negara, Malaysia

Final

edit
5 June 1970 (1970-06-05)
6 June 1970 (1970-06-06)
Malaysia   2–7   Indonesia
Report
Stadium Negara, Malaysia


 1970 Thomas Cup winner 
 
Indonesia
Fourth title

References

edit
  1. ^ Ole Mertz, "Badminton in Denmark," Badminton USA, November 1970, 11.
  2. ^ Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 29.
  3. ^ Scheele, 23.
edit