Badminton took centre stage at the Southeast Asian Games on Sunday as Indonesia drew on a raucous home support to book berths in the finals of both the men's and women's team events.
It was heavy going for the men, who struggled to beat a determined Thailand in a 3-2 thriller, after former World and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat lost meekly to Thai Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the first game.
But the women made lighter work of arch-rivals Malaysia, dispatching them 3-1 in front of a boisterous and partisan crowd at the badminton arena in central Jakarta.
The hosts have taken a commanding lead at the top of the medals table, with 40 golds and 90 podium finishes overall, as Thailand recovered from a poor start to move into second with 20 golds, three ahead of Vietnam.
Badminton, which is wildly popular in the region and a source of great national pride, promises more medals for the hot-favourite hosts, with the singles tournament still to come.
But it started badly for the men with star player Hidayat's straight sets loss, before Indonesia levelled the tie with a win for pair Septano Bona and Mohammad Ahsan and then took the lead through second singles winner Simon Santoso. As the crowd sensed victory, Thailand clawed their way back with an upset over Olympic doubles champions Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, taking the tie to the wire.
But Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka calmed the nerves with a win over Thailand's Pakkawat Vilailak in the third singles match.
Earlier Indonesian women's duo Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Anneke Feinya Agustine sealed their win over the Malaysian second doubles pair, sparking joy in the packed arena, with virtually all of the crowd cheering for the hosts.
Malaysia's coach Rexy Mainaky - an Indonesian - said inexperience had cost his team a place in the final.
"The individuals have to feel they need each other in the team," said the former Olympic champion, lamenting the decision-making of first singles player Tee Jing Yi.
"There was a lack of patience at crucial times. But we dragged the Indonesian team for five hours, which is a good thing for our young team."
The team event consists of three singles and two doubles matches, with the first nation to reach three wins progressing.
Crowds swathed in Indonesia's red and white colours, many wielding vuvuzela horns, gathered in central Jakarta to watch their side notch a third straight win, beating a 10-man Thailand 3-1 to kick them out of the tournament.
Defending champions Malaysia look set to qualify in second place behind Indonesia, while Vietnam and Myanmar have unassailable leads at the top of Group B, both with three wins and a draw.
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