# 1979 Thomas Cup knockout stage

The knockout stage for the 1979 Thomas Cup began on 24 May 1979 with the first-round knockout and ended on 2 June with the final tie.

## Qualified teams

The teams that won their zonal tie qualified for the final knockout stage.
| Group | Winners |
| CH | Indonesia |
| AS | India |
| AM | Canada |
| AU | Japan |
| EU | Denmark |

## Bracket

| First round | First round | Second round | Second round | | Challenge round | Challenge round |
| Indonesia | | | | |
| Indonesia | | 28 May 1979 – Jakarta | 28 May 1979 – Jakarta | | |
| Bye | | 28 May 1979 – Jakarta | 28 May 1979 – Jakarta | |
| Bye | | Indonesia | 9 | |
| 24 May 1979 – Jakarta | 24 May 1979 – Jakarta | | Indonesia | 9 | |
| 24 May 1979 – Jakarta | 24 May 1979 – Jakarta | Japan | 0 | |
| Canada | 1 | Japan | 0 | |
| Canada | 1 | | | | 1 June 1979 – Jakarta | 1 June 1979 – Jakarta |
| Japan | 8 | | | | 1 June 1979 – Jakarta | 1 June 1979 – Jakarta |
| Japan | 8 | | | | Indonesia | 9 |
| | | | | | Denmark | 0 |
| Denmark | | | | | Denmark | 0 |
| Denmark | | 26 May 1979 – Jakarta | 26 May 1979 – Jakarta | | | |
| Bye | | 26 May 1979 – Jakarta | 26 May 1979 – Jakarta | | | |
| Bye | | Denmark | 7 | | | |
| | | India | 2 | |
| Bye | | India | 2 | |
| India | | | | |

## First round

The inter-zone ties (team matches) were hosted by defending champion Indonesia at Jakarta in late May and early June. Contesting in an out-bracket tie for the right to play Indonesia in the semifinals, Japan decisively defeated Canada 8–1, U.S. born Pat Tryon scoring the lone point for the Canadians.

### Canada vs Japan
## Second round

The first semifinal tie pitted Denmark against India in what might have been expected to have been a very close encounter. Typically talented, Danish squads had also, typically, struggled in the tropical heat and humidity. This time, however, Denmark came through in the uncongenial climate 7–2; the pivotal match probably being wily veteran Svend Pri's inspiring victory over the much younger Prakash Padukone (less than a year before Padukone's triumph at the All-England Championships).
The second semifinal presented Japan with the daunting task of facing a powerhouse Indonesian squad in an Indonesian setting. Moreover, these Japanese players, especially in singles, were not as internationally accomplished as the highly competitive Japanese stars of a decade earlier. It came as quite a surprise, then, when Japan's number one singles player, Kinji Zeniya, began the series by racing off to a 14–9 lead on reigning All-England champion Liem Swie King. This, however, was as close to a victory as Japan came. King recovered to win the game 17–16 and nearly blanked Zeniya in the second game. Fighting hard throughout, the Japanese were successively worn down by better players who were also more accustomed to the tropical conditions. It was the first time that Japan had been on the losing side of a Thomas Cup shut-out. Thus for the fourth time, the third in a championship tie, Indonesia and Denmark squared-off in Thomas Cup competition.

### Indonesia vs Japan
## Challenge round

Though Svend Pri was 34 and by this time only the third ranked singles player in Denmark, his record of winning clutch singles matches in tropical conditions had earned him a slot in the top two singles positions. Indonesia might have placed the iconic Rudy Hartono (two months shy of 30) in a similar position in its lineup and thus effected a sequel to their long rivalry. It was not to be, as Indonesia placed Hartono in the third singles position. Nevertheless, in "veteran" Iie Sumirat, only a year younger than Hartono and, like Pri, something of a showman, Pri drew a worthy adversary. Their opening contest, the most interesting of the tie, was won by Sumirat 15–10 in the third game. Except for a three-game win by Sumirat over rising star Morten Frost on the second night, every other match was routinely taken by Indonesia. Flemming Delfs, whose play in the tropics was almost invariably a full level below its European standard, lost tamely to Hartono, and only one doubles game in eight was close. Thus for the second straight time Indonesia shut-out its final opponent in Thomas Cup, thereby winning the Cup for the seventh time in eight attempts.