1981 Uber Cup knockout stage

The final of the 1981 Uber Cup saw Indonesia and Japan duel for the title for a fifth consecutive time since 1969. Japan started with a 1–0 lead when Saori Kondo defeated Indonesia's Ivana Lie 11–7, 10–12, 11–3. In the second singles, Verawaty Wiharjo, who was one game down against Yoshiko Yonekura came back to defeat her opponent in the next two games and earned the first point for Indonesia in the tie. Indonesia later increased their lead to 2–1 when Ruth Damayanti and Verawaty Wiharjo defeated the host pair of Saori Kondo and Mikiko Takada in a three-game thriller. In the second doubles match, Indonesia's Theresia Widiastuti and Imelda Wiguna took the first game from Atsuko Tokuda and Yoshiko Yonekura of Japan but could not hold onto their lead and lost the next two games to the Japanese. The teams were tied at 2–2.

In the second day of the final, Atsuko Tokuda of Japan won against Taty Sumirah of Indonesia to put Japan ahead 3–2. Japan's lead increased further when Saori Kondo defeated Verawaty Wiharjo in the first of the crossover singles. The second crossover singles saw Yoshiko Yonekura earn the winning point for Japan when she defeated Ivana Lie in three games. After the next two doubles matches, the final score between the two teams was 6–3, with Japan successfully retaining their Uber Cup title.^[7]

Japan 6	Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium 30–31 May 1981 [8][9]		Indonesia 3
1 2 3 1 Saori Kondo Ivana Lie 11 7 10 12 11 3   2 Yoshiko Yonekura Verawaty Wiharjo 11 2 2 11 6 11   3 Saori Kondo / Mikiko Takada Ruth Damayanti / Verawaty Wiharjo 15 11 12 15 3 15   4 Atsuko Tokuda / Yoshiko Yonekura Theresia Widiastuti / Imelda Wiguna 17 18 15 11 15 11   5 Atsuko Tokuda Taty Sumirah 11 5 11 9     6 Saori Kondo Verawaty Wiharjo 11 6 11 8     7 Yoshiko Yonekura Ivana Lie 3 11 11 7 12 9   8 Saori Kondo / Mikiko Takada Theresia Widiastuti / Imelda Wiguna 15 8 15 11     9 Atsuko Tokuda / Yoshiko Yonekura Ruth Damayanti / Verawaty Wiharjo 15 9 9 15 12 15