2004 Thomas Cup knockout stage

The winners of each group were exempted until the quarter-finals stage while the rest of the teams competed in the round of 16 for a place in the final eight.

Group	Winners	Runners-up	Third place
A	China	Indonesia	United States
B	South Korea	Germany	New Zealand
C	Malaysia	Thailand	South Africa
D	Denmark	Japan	England

The last time Indonesia played against New Zealand in the Thomas Cup was in 1970, when Indonesia won 9–0 in the first round. Indonesia advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating New Zealand 3–0, with all their players winning in two straight games.^[2]

Indonesia 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 11 May 2004, 14:30 UTC+7 [3]		New Zealand 0
1 2 3 1 Sony Dwi Kuncoro John Moody 15 3 15 2     2 Luluk Hadiyanto / Alvent Yulianto John Gordon / Daniel Shirley 15 5 15 8     3 Simon Santoso Geoff Bellingham 15 3 15 2     4 Eng Hian / Flandy Limpele Geoff Bellingham / John Moody       not played 5 Wiempie Mahardi Craig Cooper       not played

Germany, who were the runners-up of Group B played against the United States who finished on the bottom of Group A. The Germans beat the American side 3–0 and won all their games in two games.

Germany 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 11 May 2004, 14:30 UTC+7 [4]		United States 0
1 2 3 1 Björn Joppien Eric Go 17 14 15 5     2 Jens Roch Howard Bach 15 0 15 2     3 Marc Zwiebler Kevin Han 15 2 15 4     4 Jochen Cassel / Joachim Tesche Tony Gunawan / Khan Malaythong       not played 5 Ingo Kindervater / Björn Siegemund Howard Bach / Kevin Han       not played

Debutants South Africa who placed third in Group C faced off against Japan who finished as runners-up in Group D. The South Africans were eliminated from the competition after a 3–0 loss against their Japanese opponents.^[5]

Japan 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 11 May 2004, 19:30 UTC+7 [6]		South Africa 0
1 2 3 1 Shōji Satō Chris Dednam 15 6 15 7     2 Sho Sasaki Dean Potgieter 15 5 15 4     3 Tōru Matsumoto Willem Viljoen 15 1 15 2     4 Keita Masuda / Tadashi Ōtsuka Chris Dednam / Roelof Dednam       not played 5 Shuichi Nakao / Shōji Satō Dorian James / Willem Viljoen       not played

Thailand, who were the runners-up of Group C faced England who finished on the bottom of Group D. The first match saw Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana up against Aamir Ghaffar of England. The Englishman produced a shocker when he won the first set 15–13, but the Thai managed to retaliate and won the next two games 15–12, 15–11 to win Thailand's first point in the tie.

England later equalized when Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson defeated Tesana Panvisvas and Pramote Teerawiwatana 15–6, 9–15, 15–10. In the third match, Thirayu Laohathaimongkol defeated Andrew South in two games to regain Thailand's lead. Thailand won the tie 3–1 after the team won their second doubles match.

Thailand 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 11 May 2004, 19:30 UTC+7 [7]		England 1
1 2 3 1 Boonsak Ponsana Aamir Ghaffar 13 15 15 12 15 11   2 Tesana Panvisvas / Pramote Teerawiwatana Anthony Clark / Nathan Robertson 6 15 15 9 10 15   3 Thirayu Laohathaimongkol Andrew South 15 11 15 6     4 Patapol Ngernsrisuk / Sudket Prapakamol Robert Blair / David Lindley 17 14 15 9     5 Anuphap Theeraratsakul Toby Honey       not played

The two teams competed against each other earlier at the semi-finals of the Asian Thomas Cup Preliminaries, where the Chinese team won 3–0.

China won the first point when Lin Dan defeated Shōji Satō of Japan 15–9, 15–13. The second match also went China's way with Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng beating Keita Masuda and Tadashi Ōtsuka 15–4, 15–5. China closed down the tie 3–0 when Chen Hong won the team's third point, beating Hidetaka Yamada in the second singles match.

China 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 12 May 2004, 19:00 UTC+7 [8]		Japan 0
1 2 3 1 Lin Dan Shōji Satō 15 9 15 13     2 Cai Yun / Fu Haifeng Keita Masuda / Tadashi Ōtsuka 15 4 15 5     3 Chen Hong Hidetaka Yamada 15 2 15 2     4 Chen Qiqiu / Sang Yang Shuichi Nakao / Shuichi Sakamoto       not played 5 Bao Chunlai Sho Sasaki       not played

Thailand opened the game with a 1–0 lead when Boonsak Ponsana performed an upset by defeating world number 5 Lee Hyun-il 17–16, 15–3. The South Koreans levelled up the tie 1–1 when Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung defeated Tesana Panvisvas and Pramote Teerawiwatana 15–5, 7–15, 15–11. South Korea took a 2–1 lead after Shon Seung-mo defeated Thirayu Laohathaimongkol in two games. Thailand were eliminated in the quarter-finals after the team lost the second doubles match.

South Korea 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 12 May 2004, 19:00 UTC+7 [9]		Thailand 1
1 2 3 1 Lee Hyun-il Boonsak Ponsana 16 17 13 15     2 Lee Dong-soo / Yoo Yong-sung Tesana Panvisvas / Pramote Teerawiwatana 15 5 7 15 15 11   3 Shon Seung-mo Thirayu Laohathaimongkol 15 0 15 2     4 Kim Dong-moon / Kim Yong-hyun Patapol Ngernsrisuk / Sudket Prapakamol 15 3 15 11     5 Park Tae-sang Adisak Wiriyaphadungphong       not played

The two teams last played against each other in the final of the 2002 Thomas Cup, where Indonesia won 3–2 after trailing 2–1 against Malaysia.

In the first singles match, Wong Choong Hann won the first game 15–12 against Sony Dwi Kuncoro. Kuncoro then fought back and won the next two games 15–1, 15–6 to earn Indonesia's first point in the tie. Malaysia equalized the score 1–1 when Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah defeated Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto 15–12, 15–6. Indonesia regained their lead when Taufik Hidayat defeated Roslin Hashim 15–10, 15–2.

In the second doubles match, Indonesia's Eng Hian and Flandy Limpele took the first game from Malaysian's Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng 15–9. The Malaysians fought back in the second game with a tight score of 15–13. The match went Indonesia's way when the Indonesians won the third game 15–12.

Indonesia 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 12 May 2004, 19:00 UTC+7 [10]		Malaysia 1
1 2 3 1 Sony Dwi Kuncoro Wong Choong Hann 12 15 15 1 15 6   2 Luluk Hadiyanto / Alvent Yulianto Choong Tan Fook / Lee Wan Wah 12 15 6 15     3 Taufik Hidayat Roslin Hashim 15 10 15 2     4 Eng Hian / Flandy Limpele Chan Chong Ming / Chew Choon Eng 15 9 13 15 15 12   5 Simon Santoso Muhammad Hafiz Hashim       not played

The two teams last met in the final of the 2004 European Thomas Cup Preliminaries where the Danes won 3–0 against their German opponents.

Denmark started the tie with a 2–0 lead with victories from their singles player Kenneth Jonassen as well as the doubles pair of Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen. Germany then took a surprise victory against the Danes when Jens Roch beat Anders Boesen 15–6, 15–3 in the second singles match. The second doubles match saw Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen defeated Jochen Cassel and Kristof Hopp 15–8, 15–7, eliminating Germany in the quarter-finals.

Denmark 3	Istora Gelora Bung Karno 12 May 2004, 19:00 UTC+7 [11]		Germany 1
1 2 3 1 Kenneth Jonassen Björn Joppien 15 9 15 11     2 Lars Paaske / Jonas Rasmussen Ingo Kindervater / Björn Siegemund 15 2 15 3     3 Anders Boesen Jens Roch 6 15 3 15     4 Jens Eriksen / Martin Lundgaard Hansen Jochen Cassel / Kristof Hopp 15 8 15 7     5 Peter Rasmussen Marc Zwiebler       not played