1961 Thomas Cup

1961 Thomas Cup
Piala Thomas 1961

Tournament details
Dates	1 – 11 June 1961
Edition	5th
Level	International
Nations	5
Venue	Istora Gelora Bung Karno
Location	Jakarta, Indonesia
← 1958 1964 →

The 1961 Thomas Cup competition is an international team tournament for supremacy in men's badminton (Its female counterpart is the Uber Cup). Beginning in 1948–49 it was held every three years until 1982 and thereafter every two years. Nineteen teams, eighteen of them starting from four regional qualifying zones, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and Pan America, contested for the Thomas Cup during the 1960-1961 seasons. Zone winners then played-off in Jakarta, Indonesia for the right to face defending champion Indonesia (exempt from all earlier ties), in a conclusive challenge round. For a more detailed description of the Thomas Cup format, see Wikipedia's general article on the Thomas Cup.

This was the first international multi-sport event hosted by Indonesia, who was only 15 years old at the time. The venue was the Istora Gelora Bung Karno, which was only opened on 11 days before the tournament.

Qualification

Main article: 1961 Thomas Cup qualification

Means of qualification	Date	Venue	Slot	Qualified teams
1958 Thomas Cup	5 – 15 June 1958	Singapore	1	Indonesia
Asian Zone	30 July 1961 – 29 March 1961	Bangkok Hong Kong Lahore	1	Thailand
American Zone	24 – 25 February 1961	Toronto	1	United States
European Zone	14 November 1961 – 12 March 1961	Greenock Derry Paris Southend-on-Sea Stockholm Trollhättan	1	Denmark
Australasian Zone	22 – 23 July 1961	Feilding Melbourne	1	Indonesia
Total			5

Despite missing its best known singles player, Charoen Wattanasin, Thailand again prevailed in the Asian zone by beating, consecutively, India (6–3), three time former champion Malaya (7–2), and Pakistan (8–1). Of note in these ties, the talented Nandu Natekar had a hand in all of the individual matches which India salvaged, while Malaya's Eddie Choong, well past his prime at a fairly young age, was routinely beaten in both of his singles. No player on Thailand's team was more than twenty-four years old.

For the second straight time Japan defaulted an Australasian zone tie, this time allowing Australia, led by Kenneth Turner, to advance to the inter-zone phase after its 8–1 victory over New Zealand. Star-studded Denmark coasted through three ties in the European zone, shutting out its usual victim England in the zone final. The same two-way American zone race ended as before with the United States beating Canada 7–2. Evergreen Joe Alston and Wynn Rogers still led the way in doubles for the USA which also had a small but competent cadre of international level singles players.

Squads

Further information: 1961 Thomas Cup squads

Knockout stage

Main article: 1961 Thomas Cup knockout stage

The following teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1961 Thomas Cup. Defending champion and host Indonesia automatically qualified to defend their title.

Bracket

	First round				Second round				Challenge round
	Indonesia
	Bye
					Indonesia
					Bye
									10 June 1961 – Jakarta
									Indonesia	6
	1 June 1958 – Jakarta
									Thailand	3
	Australia	0
					6 June 1961 – Jakarta
	Thailand	9
					Thailand	7
	3 June 1958 – Jakarta
					Denmark	2
	United States	2
	Denmark	7

First round

Thailand  v  Australia

1 June 1961 (1961-06-01) 2 June 1961 (1961-06-02)

Thailand	9–0	Australia
Report

Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Indonesia

Denmark  v  United States

3 June 1961 (1961-06-03) 4 June 1961 (1961-06-04)

Denmark	7–2	United States
Report

Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Indonesia

Second round

Denmark  v  Thailand

6 June 1961 (1961-06-06) 7 June 1961 (1961-06-07)

Denmark	2–7	Thailand
Report

Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Indonesia

Final

Indonesia  v  Thailand

10 June 1961 (1961-06-10) 11 June 1961 (1961-06-11)

Indonesia	6–3	Thailand
Report

Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Indonesia

1961 Thomas Cup winner
Indonesia Second title

References

• tangkis.tripod.com
• Mike's Badminton Populorum Archived 2016-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Herbert Scheele, The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 82.
• Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlative Ltd., 1983). 122.