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Kuala Lumpur. For the second day in a row, Indonesia’s march toward glory in Malaysia hit unexpected resistance.

Its Thomas Cup squad clinched top spot in Group D after a 4-1 defeat of India at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex on Monday, but the victory came at a price.

No. 2 men’s singles shuttler Sony Dwi Kuncoro had to retire against Arvind Bhatt, suffering a recurrence of the back injury that has plagued him throughout his career and could cut short his stay in Kuala Lumpur.

“Sony started to feel his long-time injury again during the second game, so he decided not to continue,” said Jacob Rusdianto, Indonesia’s Thomas Cup team manager.

Sony, 25, retired while trailing Bhatt 15-9 in the second game, having won the first 21-19.

He suffered the same injury last year during the All England Super Series and spent two months in recovery.

Jacob said he would wait for the results of the team doctor’s examination before deciding whether to risk the world No. 11 in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

“We have a day off [on Tuesday], so we will try to cure Sony and, hopefully, he can play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday,” Jacob said.

“If it is impossible for him to play, [Dionysius] Hayom [Rumbaka] will fill his shoes, and I think Hayom is very ready.”

That was not the only reason to worry for Indonesia, which swept Australia 5-0 on Sunday.

Taufik Hidayat needed 63 minutes to see off Kashyap Parupalii 14-21, 21-19, 21-18 in No. 1 singles. The world No. 5 said a stiff wind blowing through the stadium made his life difficult.

“I had to play against the wind and failed to control the first game, but I managed to get control in second game,” Taufik said. “Apart from that, [Parupalli] played very well today.”

Parupalli, ranked 33rd in the world, took heart from the narrow defeat against one of the world’s top shuttlers.

“I should have nailed him when I was ahead 11-4, but he used his experience to full use,” he told Agence France-Presse. “I am disappointed with the defeat, but I am pleased with my game.

“This is my first match in the Thomas Cup finals, and it is quite an experience. I am proud that I managed to take Taufik to three sets before losing. ”

Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan gave Indonesia a 2-0 lead after they beat Sanave Thomas and Akshay Dewalkar 21-11, 21-13 in No. 1 doubles.

Sony’s withdrawal kept India in the tie, but Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan secured Indonesia’s victory with a 14-21, 21-13, 21-11 defeat of Rupesh Kumar and Diju Valiyaveetil. Simon Santoso rounded out the victory after he beat Anup Sridhar 21-8, 21-17.

In Group A, South Korea swept past Peru 5-0 to set up a deciding clash today against China. Germany won the first three matches of its Group C tie against Poland to take an unbeatable lead, and Japan beat Nigeria 5-0 in Group B.

Denmark’s women beat Australia 3-2 in the closest tie of the tournament so far, with the Danes rallying from 2-1 down with victories in both doubles matches. The win set up a meeting today with Indonesia to see who wins Uber Cup Group B.

Elsewhere in the Uber Cup, Russia saw off Germany 4-1 in Group C despite Juliane Schenk winning her second singles match. India swept South Africa 5-0 in Group D, and Malaysia did likewise to the United States in Group A.