China books record third Sudirman Cup

By Primastuti Handayani

COPENHAGEN (JP): Defending champion China carved out a piece of badminton history on Sunday by becoming the first country to win the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships three straight times.

China dashed home favorite Denmark's hopes of winning the trophy for the first time in six attempts with a 3-1 win in a thrilling final played before a sell-out crowd of 4,000.

The organizers dropped the women's doubles match pitting China's Ge Fei and Gu Jun against Rikke Olsen and Helene Kirkegaard after the Chinese clinched the title by winning the men's doubles behind the teaming of Zhang Jun and Yu Jinhao.

The solid partnership of Zhang and Yu upset Danish rivals Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen 15-12, 15-13 in another seesaw match which gave the Chinese the Cup.

Chinese head coach Li Yongbo, a former world-class doubles specialist, rushed onto the court to hug his proteges in an emotional victory celebration.

China won the trophy in 1997 and 1995. South Korea won in 1991 and 1993 and Indonesia took the inaugural event in 1989.

The mixed doubles pairing of Jon Holst-Christensen and Ann Jorgensen put Denmark ahead with their 15-10, 15-8 defeat of Liu Yong and Ge Fei in the opening match.

Holst-Christensen fell to the court to express his joy amid the deafening cheers of the home crowd who packed Brondby Hallen indoor stadium.

"I was very happy with the victory and it was a spontaneous celebration. We played very good. We had a good start. I told myself this morning that I had to win the match. We played fantastically in beating the Chinese," he said at a postmatch press conference.

"Although Ge Fei is the world's number one doubles specialist, I think today Ann played better. Liu Yong seemed insecure and I could see from his eyes that he was nervous," he said.

Holst-Christensen was a replacement for Jorgensen's regular partner, Michael Soogard, who was dropped following a defeat in the semifinals against Indonesia.

Setback

The second match marked the turning point of the finals, when world number three women's singles Camilla Martin suffered an upset at the hands of Dai Yun, who took the match 11-5, 9-11, 11- 13.

Martin, armed with powerful drives, took a commanding 9-2 lead in the second set and had a match point in the deciding set, only to see Dai crawl her way back to victory.

In the decider, Martin raced to a 9-3 lead but the never-say- die Dai slowly began scoring with her smashes and the Dane began to commit errors.

The 21-year-old Chinese took control of the match once Martin wasted her chance to convert her only match point. Dai led 12-10 before Camilla closed the gap to 11-12. But the Dane's wide return finally ended the marathon match.

"I didn't change my playing style. I played as I did earlier but Dai was getting closer for the points. I should have kept the shuttlecock going and not have tried to attack too much. We had long rallies, especially in the third game," Martin said.

"Dai played more relaxed in the third game and she made few errors. She's also played less aggressive," she said.

World number two Sun Jun of China struggled to overcome Peter Gade Christensen, the world's number one. Sun eventually won the match 15-13, 15-13. It was apparent that Gade Christensen failed to deal with the pressure from Sun and the home crowd.

"I couldn't play my best before my own crowd. In the first game, when I led 12-6, suddenly I lost my explosive power and I felt tired," he said.

"I tried to give my best but I was tired because I played four times in a row. I had a little psychological barrier in my head."

Gade Christensen said he was not influenced by the loss suffered by his girlfriend, Martin.

"Camilla played extraordinarily. Her loss didn't influence my performance," the All England champion said.

Results: China 3 Denmark 1 Liu Yong/Ge Fei lost to Jon Holst-Christensen/Ann Jorgensen 10- 15, 8-15 Dai Yun bt Camilla Martin 5-11, 11-9, 13-11 Sun Jun bt Peter Gade Christensen 15-13, 15-13 Zhang Jun/Yu Jinhao bt Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen 15-12, 15-13 Ge Fei/Gu Jun v Rikke Olsen/Helene Kirkegaard not played