PROTON-BWF THOMAS & UBER CUP 2010 FINALS: Optimistic Koreans dream of lifting title
News 4:45 PM
South Korea are hoping to be sixth time lucky after reaching Saturday's Uber Cup final with a 3-1 victory over Japan at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
The Koreans have reached five finals in the past, but on each occasion finished second to China
This year, the Koreans appear to have a more balanced line-up with three very good singles players and two good doubles pairs and there is a strong possibility they will once again meet China , who face Indonesia 
Team manager Kim Jong-soo said: "I think we have quite a good squad with the singles and doubles players all equally strong. We have never won the title but we will go all out this year to rectify this.
"We must ensure our three singles players are in tip top shape as they will hold the key to victory. We had a tough game today against Japan and another tough match against Russia
"Our players are slightly tired but we are lucky there is a day's rest before the final."
Bae Seung-hee gave South Korea a good start when she upset Eriko Hirose 21-12, 21-16, a result which boosted South Korea
"Bae has been playing well but we didn't expect a point from her as Eriko is quite an experienced player," said Joong-soo,
"We had expected to win both doubles and the second singles but getting the first point was great. Although our second singles (Bae Young-joo) didn't win her match, it didn't matter as we were already up 2-0."
Lee Hyo-jung-Kim Min Jung made it 2-0 for South Korea when they beat Satoko Suetsuna-Miyuki Maeda 21-19, 21-10 before Ai Goto pulled a point back for Japan
Meanwhile, Japan
"This is a big achievement for us as we have made it to the semi-finals when our target was just the quarter-finals," said the former world and Olympic doubles gold medallist.
"Yes it was heartbreaking to lose, especially when the line judges made two crucial calls against us in first doubles which could have altered the outcome. We will get stronger after this for sure."
UBER CUP
SEMI-FINALS
South Korea 3 Japan 1 (Bae Seung-hee bt Eriko Hirose 21-12, 21-16; Lee Hyo-jung-Kim Min Jung bt Satoko Suetsuna-Miyuki Maeda 21-19, 21-10; Bae Youn-joo lost Ai Goto 10-21, 20-22; Lee Kyung-won-He Jung-eun bt Mizuki Fuji-Reika Kakiiwa 21-14, 21-18)
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 4:45 PM.
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