China set to win GP's men's singles

China set to win GP's men's singles

JAKARTA (JP): China is set to win the men's singles and the
women's doubles titles in today's finals at the 1997 Lipton World
Grand Prix Badminton Finals at Senayan Indoor Stadium.

Dong Jiong, world number one, meets Sun Jun, while Ge Fei/Gu
Jun face Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu, making an all-Chinese finals.

Dong defeated the 1996 Olympic gold medalist Poul-Erik Hoyer-
Larsen 15-9, 15-7 in a 31-minute match yesterday.

Sun beat world number two Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark
15-10, 15-17, 15-6 in 75 minutes. Their meet will be a repeat of
the All England final.

In the women's singles, Indonesia's Susi Susanti, who aims to
win her seventh title from the tournament, challenges archrival
Ye Zhaoying after beating world ranked two Gong Zhichao of China
11-8, 11-4 in 40 minutes.

Ye taught a lesson to junior Wang Chen, world number 13, and
won 11-6, 11-3 in 23 minutes.

Dong, who won four Grand Prix series tournaments, including
the All England this year, told a postmatch press conference at
the beginning of yesterday's match that it was difficult.

"Hoyer-Larsen is one of the finest player in the world. He
played good tonight, especially in the first set. He's very tough
before the net. I must be confident to play against him because
he's very skilled."

Separately, Hoyer-Larsen, who has lost to Dong twice in their
six meetings, said that he played well in the beginning.

"But after leading 9-5, I made simple mistakes and led him 9-8
before he took over 11-9. I lost my confidence and I didn't
believe that I could push him on the court. In the end, he
controlled the game and won it," said the father of two children.

"He pushed me to the baseline and suddenly pulled me before
the net. When he's in control, he's very good and dangerous. He's
mentally quite relax. If I could push him on the court, I might
win."

"However, I'm quite satisfied with my performance because I
didn't have any tournament practice before competing here," said
the U.S. Open winner.

Sun Jun had to play all out before winning the first set 15-10
against Gade Christensen. But he lost the second set 15-17 when
he spoiled his chance in the match point of 14-4 by making
unforced errors.

Gade Christensen started to trail in points before he finally
equalized the score for a deuce. In the do-or-die set, Gade
Christensen, barracked by 1,500 spectators, closed the set 17-15.

Unfortunately, he failed to win the third set.

Sun said: "The most important thing was to give high balls to
Gade Christensen and play more patiently, especially in the third
set. I rushed myself too much to finish the second set but I made
mistakes instead."

Susi, who started to push Gong with her offensive lobs,
controlled her match and won against the Chinese 4-3 in their
seven meets.

"I just hoped to win my seventh title in the tournament. I
think I and Ye have the same chances to win the final tomorrow,"
she said.

Susi's coach, Liang Chiushia, said: "Susi could control the
match from the beginning. She's very confident and her attacking
lobs and defense were very good."

Gong said: "Susi played very well today. I had to rally to
beat her but she attacked more. There's a strong wind on the
court which influenced my form. But this is Susi's best form in a
match against me." (yan)

Results

Men's singles:
Dong Jiong (Chn) bt Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen (Den) 15-9, 15-7
Sun Jun (Chn) bt Peter Gade Christensen (Den) 15-10, 15-17, 15-6

Women's singles:
Susi Susanti (Ina) bt Gong Zhichao (Chn) 11-8, 11-4
Ye Zhaoying (Chn) bt Wang Chen (Chn) 11-6, 11-3

Men's doubles:
Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto (Ina) bt Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky
(Ina) 7-15, 15-8, 15-3
Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock (Mal) bt Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen
(Den) 15-2, 15-9

Women's doubles:
Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu (Chn) bt Qiang Hong/Liu Lu (Chn) 15-9,
15-10
Ge Fei/Gu Jun (Chn) bt Eliza/Zelin Resiana (Ina) 15-6, 15-9

Mixed doubles:
Tri Kusharjanto/Minarti Timur (Ina) bt Jens Eriksen/Marlene
Thomsen (Den) 15-9, 15-12
Liu Yong/Ge Fei (Chn) bt Bambang Suprianto/Riseu Rosalina (Ina)
15-2, 15-3