Haryanto faces Swede in badminton GP finals

Haryanto faces Swede in badminton GP finals

SINGAPORE (AFP): World badminton champion Haryanto Arbi of Indonesia will face Jens Olsson of Sweden in the first round of the US$325,000 World Grand Prix finals which start here on Wednesday.

Haryanto, who is number one in the grand prix points listing and is the favorite for the men's crown, is grouped with Olsson, Lee Kwan Jin of South Korea and Rashid Sidek of Malaysia in group A.

Haryanto's compatriots Alan Budikusuma and Joko Suprianto top groups B and C while Dane Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen leads group D.

If the rankings hold good, Haryanto would face Alan in the semifinals.

The International Badminton Federation announced the groupings on Saturday.

Players will be competing in a round-robin format in four groups of four players in the men's singles, four groups of three players in the women's singles and two groups of four pairs in each of the doubles events.

Chinese-born Swede Lim Xiaoqing, who tops the grand prix points listing for women, will meet Han Jingna of China and Yuliani Sentosa of Indonesia in group B.

Lim has gone from strength to strength this year, winning the prestigious All-England title in addition to Danish, Chinese- Taipei, Thailand and Singapore tournaments and will be out to round off the year in style.

Indonesia's Mia Audina, Denmark's Camilla Martin and China's Ye Zhaoying lead group A, C and D respectively.

The prize money on offer at the finals this year is the biggest yet, and completes the Grand Prix series which totals more than $2 million.