Denmark pounds Japan 5-0

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta

World No. 6 Peter Gade Christensen led Denmark past England 5- 0 to march to the quarterfinals in the Thomas Cup badminton championship here on Monday.

It was a back-to-back sweeping win for the Danes. Their first victim was England on Friday.

Denmark topped Group D and will play against either the United States or Germany, both being paired in the playoffs, in the quarterfinal.

Gade Christensen won 15-2, 15-10 over Hidetaka Yamada in the opening tie against Japan.

Kenneth Jonnassen doubled the team's lead, defeating Sho Sasaki with the same score -- 15-2, 15-10 -- while Niels Christian Kaldau, who stood in replacement of Anders Boesen, put the issue beyond doubt, with a three-game win over Toru Matsumoto. Kaldau won 15-13, 7-15, 15-5.

Number one pair in Denmark Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen won over Japan's first doubles Keita Matsuda and Tadashi Ohtsuka with 15-12, 15-9. Denmark's second doubles Martin Lundgaard Hansen and Jens Eriksen won 15-3, 15-9 over Japanese pair Shuici Nakao and Toru Matsumoto to complete the shot.

Team manager Flemming Wiberg told The Jakarta Post that he was quite confident about his team's chances of entering the final round.

He said that the team lined up the best of Denmark's players in previous championships with the world's top doubles pair of Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen, and European champions Jens Erikssen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen.

Denmark has managed to reach the finals six times in the championship, which was first staged in 1949.

Concerning the prospects against the playoff winner, Wiberg said: "Between Germany and the U.S., I think Germany will win because they have the stronger team. I think we'll play against Germany in the next round."

Wiberg said he knew Germany's strengths well having coached the team from 1993 to 1996.

"I know the German team's shape. I think Danish players are a lot better, so I think we'll win 5-0 against them," he added confidently.

Meanwhile, Japan will play South Africa on Tuesday, while England will face Thailand.

In Group B, South Korea will wait for the winner of a match between Thailand and England.

Defending champion Indonesia met favorite China on Monday evening to determine which topped Group A. The winner will cruise to the quarterfinals, while the loser faces minnow New Zealand in the playoff.