Indonesia out to field a full team

JAKARTA (JP): Host Indonesia is determined to wipe out the memory of its upset Sudirman Cup mixed team championship last month as it deploys its strongest team for the July 12-16 Indonesia Open here.

Karsono of the Badminton Association of Indonesia said yesterday that all star-studded shuttlers would be joining forces with their second stringers against their arch rivals from South Korea, Denmark and China.

All England champions Poul Erik Hoyer Larsen of Denmark and Lim Xiaoqing of Sweden and South Korean world women's singles number one Bang Soo-hyun will all be worth watching as they try to crush their Indonesian jinx.

Major absentees from the US$170,000 competition will be Chinese world champion Ye Zhaoying and her male teammates Dong Jiong and Sun Jun, the conquerors of Indonesia in the Sudirman Cup. The organizers have so far failed to explain their absence. The Chinese will also miss the Malaysia Open next week. (amd)