På forhånd var det ikke ventet, at hallen ville være fuld, eftersom Kina ikke var den ene part. Men - bortset fra sporadisk tomme pladser, var det tæt på at være udsolgt til denne finale mellem ærkefjenderne Indonesien - Malaysia.

It wasn't expected that the Tianhe Stadium would be sold out since the Chinese Thomas Cup wasn't one part of the Finals. But the Stadium was in fact almost sold out, and the atmosphere was very good.
A vast majority cheered for Malaysia - at least to begin with.

Marleve Mainaky - Wong Choon Hann
5-7, 5-7, 1-7

Første sæt så længe ud til at gå til Indonesien, med en 5-0 føring, men Malaysia ville det anderledes, og kæmpede sig til sætsejr på 5-7.
Og så gik det ellers bare derudad for Hann, der vandt en populær sejr, skal man dømme efter publikum!

Up 5-0, first game looked to be an easy win for Indonesia. But Malaysia fought back and won the game, the next game and the third game. According to the reaction from the spectators it was a very popular win.

Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto - C.W. Chen/C.E.Chew
7-3, 7-4, 7-2
Der var ikke meget at komme efter for Malaysia i denne kamp. Uha, de spillede ikke dårligt, men Wijaya/Budiarto er en institution, der er så fasttømret at de var svære at rykke i dag.
Indonesien udlignede til 1-1.

Wijaya/Budiarto were too big a mouthful for the Malaysians and Indonesia equalized the score to 1-1.

Taufik Hidayat, Indonesia

Taufik Hidayat - T.S. Lee
7-1, 5-7, 2-7, 3-7

Kampen blev meget kontroversiel, med en Taufik Hidayat, der følte at alle kendelser gik ham imod. Han var virkelig rasende, og på et tidspunkt så det ud til at han ville forlade kampen. Han nøjedes dog med at diskutere med dommeren, og få publikum til at buuuhhhhe hver gang han servede!

It turned out to be a match full of bad vibrations! Taufik was not happy with som line calls and looked like he wanted to leave the court anytime. He settled with discussing with the umpire and referee...! And only achieved to turn the audience against himself.

Trikus Haryanto/Halim Haryanto - Wan Wah Lee/Tan Fok Choong
8-7, 7-8, 7-1, 7-3

Sikke en kamp! Der var fuldt drøn på spillet, tempoet, publikum, underholdning....!
Kampen indeholdt alt der var positivt, og alligevel var man ikke i tvivl om, at det var en vigtig kamp. Ikke mindst for Indonesien, der var bagud.

What a match! It had everything: Speed, entertainment, sublime badminton, seriousness, laughter...! And yet at no time did one doubt the seriousness of the match - not at least seen with Indonesian eyes, 1-2 down.
But they equalised the score and it was all down to the third Men's Singles to decide the home of the Thomas Cup for the next two years.

Hendrawan - Hashim Muhd Roslin
8-7, 7-2, 7-1

Jamen, jamen, jamen - med en Hendrawan i sådan et spillehumør, skal modstanderen stå ualmindeligt tidligt op!
Og at se Hendrawan blive jaget rundt i hallen af sine ellevilde holdkammerater, blive båret i guldstol med tårerne rendende ned af kinderne....nå ja, så synes man at det rigtige punktum blev sat i 2002 Thomas Cup.

Hello, hello - with Hendrawan playing like that you have to rise and shine very early to keep up with him!
When the matchball hit the court, Hendrawan pointed out to his team mate who rushed towards him. When they caught up with him Hendrawan was chaired shoulder high, while tears was running down his face...