China books record third Sudirman Cup<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
COPENHAGEN (JP): Defending champion China carved out a piece
\nof badminton history on Sunday by becoming the first country to
\nwin the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships three straight
\ntimes.<\/p>\n
China dashed home favorite Denmark's hopes of winning the
\ntrophy for the first time in six attempts with a 3-1 win in a
\nthrilling final played before a sell-out crowd of 4,000.<\/p>\n
The organizers dropped the women's doubles match pitting
\nChina's Ge Fei and Gu Jun against Rikke Olsen and Helene
\nKirkegaard after the Chinese clinched the title by winning the
\nmen's doubles behind the teaming of Zhang Jun and Yu Jinhao.<\/p>\n
The solid partnership of Zhang and Yu upset Danish rivals Jens
\nEriksen and Jesper Larsen 15-12, 15-13 in another seesaw match
\nwhich gave the Chinese the Cup.<\/p>\n
Chinese head coach Li Yongbo, a former world-class doubles
\nspecialist, rushed onto the court to hug his proteges in an
\nemotional victory celebration.<\/p>\n
China won the trophy in 1997 and 1995. South Korea won in 1991
\nand 1993 and Indonesia took the inaugural event in 1989.<\/p>\n
The mixed doubles pairing of Jon Holst-Christensen and Ann
\nJorgensen put Denmark ahead with their 15-10, 15-8 defeat of Liu
\nYong and Ge Fei in the opening match.<\/p>\n
Holst-Christensen fell to the court to express his joy amid
\nthe deafening cheers of the home crowd who packed Brondby Hallen
\nindoor stadium.<\/p>\n
\"I was very happy with the victory and it was a spontaneous
\ncelebration. We played very good. We had a good start. I told
\nmyself this morning that I had to win the match. We played
\nfantastically in beating the Chinese,\" he said at a postmatch
\npress conference.<\/p>\n
\"Although Ge Fei is the world's number one doubles specialist,
\nI think today Ann played better. Liu Yong seemed insecure and I
\ncould see from his eyes that he was nervous,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Holst-Christensen was a replacement for Jorgensen's regular
\npartner, Michael Soogard, who was dropped following a defeat in
\nthe semifinals against Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Setback<\/p>\n
The second match marked the turning point of the finals, when
\nworld number three women's singles Camilla Martin suffered an
\nupset at the hands of Dai Yun, who took the match 11-5, 9-11, 11-
\n13.<\/p>\n
Martin, armed with powerful drives, took a commanding 9-2 lead
\nin the second set and had a match point in the deciding set, only
\nto see Dai crawl her way back to victory.<\/p>\n
In the decider, Martin raced to a 9-3 lead but the never-say-
\ndie Dai slowly began scoring with her smashes and the Dane began
\nto commit errors.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old Chinese took control of the match once Martin
\nwasted her chance to convert her only match point. Dai led 12-10
\nbefore Camilla closed the gap to 11-12. But the Dane's wide
\nreturn finally ended the marathon match.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't change my playing style. I played as I did earlier
\nbut Dai was getting closer for the points. I should have kept the
\nshuttlecock going and not have tried to attack too much. We had
\nlong rallies, especially in the third game,\" Martin said.<\/p>\n
\"Dai played more relaxed in the third game and she made few
\nerrors. She's also played less aggressive,\" she said.<\/p>\n
World number two Sun Jun of China struggled to overcome Peter
\nGade Christensen, the world's number one. Sun eventually won the
\nmatch 15-13, 15-13. It was apparent that Gade Christensen failed
\nto deal with the pressure from Sun and the home crowd.<\/p>\n
\"I couldn't play my best before my own crowd. In the first
\ngame, when I led 12-6, suddenly I lost my explosive power and I
\nfelt tired,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I tried to give my best but I was tired because I played four
\ntimes in a row. I had a little psychological barrier in my head.\"<\/p>\n
Gade Christensen said he was not influenced by the loss
\nsuffered by his girlfriend, Martin.<\/p>\n
\"Camilla played extraordinarily. Her loss didn't influence my
\nperformance,\" the All England champion said.<\/p>\n
Results:
\nChina 3 Denmark 1
\nLiu Yong\/Ge Fei lost to Jon Holst-Christensen\/Ann Jorgensen 10-
\n15, 8-15
\nDai Yun bt Camilla Martin 5-11, 11-9, 13-11
\nSun Jun bt Peter Gade Christensen 15-13, 15-13
\nZhang Jun\/Yu Jinhao bt Jens Eriksen\/Jesper Larsen 15-12, 15-13
\nGe Fei\/Gu Jun v Rikke Olsen\/Helene Kirkegaard not played<\/p>",
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