Indonesia, Malaysia top Cup seedings

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Malaysia have been named the top seeds in the A King Asia Cup men's team badminton championship here from Feb. 19 to Feb. 23.

Indonesia will lead Group A and Malaysia will lead Group B, according to the Asian Badminton Confederation.

The US$150,000 tournament will be contested at the Senayan Indoor tennis stadium.

The winning team will get $80,000, the runner up will receive $40,000, the third team will receive $20,000 and the fourth team will take home $10,000.

The semifinals and finals are to be aired live by SCTV.

Group A comprises Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and India. Group B consists of Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.

The confederation set up the event to give Asian countries a chance to compete as the stronghold of world badminton. The competition is expected to become as prestigious as the Thomas Cup championship. Each country is expected to send one team of five or six players and an official.

With China's withdrawal from the tournament, Korea is seen as the country which could block Indonesia's and Malaysia's path to the finals.

The China Badminton Association announced last Wednesday that its team had withdrawn from the five-day meeting because of an internal affair between the players and officials. It gave no other reason for skipping the championship.

The Asian association has announced that India will replace China in the tournament.

The price of tickets for the preliminary rounds, from Feb. 19 to Feb. 21, are Rp 7,500 for a VIP seat and Rp 3,000 for a first- class seat. The prices will increase for the semifinals and finals to Rp 10,000 for a VIP-seat and Rp 5,000 for a first-class seat.

The schedule of play is as follows:

Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m.: Indonesia vs India, Chinese Taipei vs Thailand, Malaysia vs Hong Kong and Korea vs Japan.

Thursday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m.: Indonesia vs Thailand, Chinese Taipei vs India, Malaysia vs Japan and South Korea vs Hong Kong.

Friday, Feb. 21, at 5 p.m.: Indonesia vs Chinese Taipei, Thailand vs India, Malaysia vs South Korea and Japan vs Hong Kong.

Saturday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m.: semifinals: winner of Group A vs runner-up of Group B and winner of Group B vs runner-up of Group A.

Sunday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m.: finals and third-place match. (lnt)