Joko can reach World Cup semifinals
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's shuttlers Joko Suprianto and Hariyanto Arbi have a good chance of making it into the semifinals of the 1997 Sanyo World Cup Badminton Championship in Yogyakarta next week.
Based on the groupings, Susi Susanti and Mia Audina will also have a good chance of reaching the semifinals.
Joko is in the men's singles Group B with Chinese Lou Yigang, Thomas Johanson of Sweden and unseeded Gopi Chand of India.
Hariyanto, nickname Hari, will only face a tough challenge from Ong Ewe Hock of Malaysia in Group D. Hari will also meet Darren Hall of England and Hwang Sun-ho of South Korea.
Coach Indra Gunawan said Thursday that Joko and Hari would be able to overcome the contenders in their groups.
Old hand Ardy Wiranata, the 1997 Indonesia Open champion, will meet Sun Jun of China, Tam Kai Chuen of Hong Kong and Soren B. Nielsen of Denmark.
Indonesia's young hope Indra Wijaya will have a slim chance of making it to the semifinals because he has to meet defending champion Dong Jiong of China in Group A. Indra will also have to meet Jeroen van Dijk of the Netherlands and Martin Lundgaard Hansen of Denmark.
In the women's singles, defending champion Susi will only face a tough challenge from Wang Chen of China in Group D. She will also meet Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands.
World champion Ye Zhaoying of China will be in Group A with Indonesia's Meiluawati and Takako Ida of Japan while the 1997 Singapore Open winner Mia will meet Kim Ji-hyun of South Korea and Marina Andrevskaya of Swedia in Group B.
In Group C, Gong Zhichao of China will face Lee Joo-hyun of South Korea and Pornsawan Plungwech of Thailand.
Men's doubles world champion Sigit Budiarto/Candra Wijaya of Indonesia will have to work hard to overcome Malaysia's Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah, Chinese duo of Tao Xiaoqiang/Ge Cheng and Peter Axelsson/Par-Gunnar Jonsson of Swedia.
The championship, which will start on Aug. 19 and end on Aug. 24, will be fought out by 68 shuttlers.
Amongrogo Sports Hall, Yogyakarta, where the event will be held, has been fitted with a 200 kilowatt generator to anticipate any electricity failures.
"The organizers fitted the generator, which they borrowed from Mandala Krida Stadium, to anticipate any electricity shut downs," the organizers' chairman Soelistyo told Antara.
In the Indonesian Open tournament last month, the electricity went off for about 30 minutes and disrupted the tournament.
Soelistyo said the organizers have also repaired facilities, including fixing toilets and installing air conditioners in the players lounge.
Soelistyo guaranteed that the roof would not leak in heavy rain, as happened at last year's Indonesian Open in Medan, North Sumatra.
He also said that the venue would have three courts open during the preliminary rounds. (yan)
Other groupings:
Men's doubles:
Group B: Lee Dong-soo/Yoo Yong-sung (Kor), Ricky Subagya/Rexy Mainaky (Ina), Andreij Antropov/Nikolaj Zuev (Rus), Chris Hunt/Simon Archer (Gbr)
Women's doubles:
Group A: Ge Fei/Gu Jun (Chn), Indarti Isolina/Deyana Lomban (Ina), Nicola Beck/Joanne Davies (Gbr)
Group B: Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu (Chn), Eliza/Zelin Resiana (Ina), Chen Li-CHin/Tsai Hui-Min (Tpe)
Mixed doubles:
Group A: Liu Yong/Ge Fei (Chn), Imam Tohari/Emma Ermawati (Ina), Peter Axelsson/Catrine Bengtsson (Swe).
Group B: Tri Kusherjanto/Minarti Timur (Ina), Flandy Limpele/Riseu Rosalina (Ina), Micael Keck/Erica van den Heuvel (Ger/Ned)