S. Korea, Denmark early winners in Sudirman Cup

S. Korea, Denmark early winners in Sudirman Cup

GLASGOW (AFP): South Korea and Denmark, playing their first
matches in the Sudirman Cup, the team event of the World
Badminton Championships, beat England and Sweden by identical
margins, 4-1 here on Wednesday.

Denmark's win was more comfortable, however, because the one
rubber it conceded was a dead one -- and the manner of its
victory was more impressive.

Korea, twice former champions, was pushed a little harder. It
suffered a real shock when Park Sung-woo, singles finalist in the
last World Championships, was beaten 15-10, 17-15 by 32-year-old
Darren Hall as England tied the match at one apiece.

Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min had had to battle really hard
to put the Koreans 1-0 up in the mixed doubles rubber.

The English team of Simon Archer and Julie Bradbury came back
from a deficit of 7-14 to 13-14 before surrendering the opening
game, saving five game points in the process.

In the second, Archer and Bradbury led 9-5 and 10-7, but Kim
and Ra struck back with a display of dazzling badminton.

Kim Ji-hyun's 11-5, 11-1 win over Julia Mann in the women's
singles finally gave the Koreans the momentum to ease away to
victory.

After Denmark had taken a 2-0 lead over Sweden, Rikard
Magnusson briefly threatened to do for the losers what Hall did
for England.

He held a big lead in the first game against Thomas Stuer-
Lauridsen. But once the Dane got into stride, Magnusson was
overwhelmed.

Defeats for England and Sweden meant that they will have to
contest the play-off on Friday to decide which of them is
relegated to Division 2.

In that Division, Malaysia looks a good bet for promotion into
the elite group after it beat Russia 3-2, sealing its win in the
very last point of the match.

Law Pei Pei secured a remarkable win for the Malaysians in the
women's singles over Elena Sukhareva, winning 11-1 5-11 12-11.

Other results

China, the Cup holder, and Indonesia, its main rival, was
rampant in beating England and Sweden, respectively, in their
opening ties.

Both won without conceding a rubber and the only game that
China dropped was in the men's doubles, after the outcome was
decided.

In the women's singles rubber of that China - England match,
Ye Zhaoying, the reigning World and All-England champion,
demolished Julia Mann 11-0, 11-2 in 12 minutes, seizing the first
game in just three.

Sweden's defiance of Indonesia was confined to the men's
singles in which Thomas Johansson, silver medalist in the
European Championships three years ago, extended former World
champion, Joko Suprianto, taking the first game.

But Joko showed him no mercy in the second and third, winning
them at the cost of only three and nine points.

Thailand, relegated from the first division, damaged its
chances of going up against by losing its opening match against
Germany from a seemingly impregnable position.

In the deciding rubber, the women's doubles, Somharuthai
Jaroensiri and Thitikarnh led Karen Stechmann and Kerstin Ubben
12-8 in the final game, but could not drive home their advantage
and lost without being able to claim another point.

The same group in the second division produced another
thriller, Chinese Taipei beating Japan, whose men must take the
major share of the blame for their defeat.

Scotland strengthened its position in the 3rd division by
beating Norway, but to justify its top seeding in its group, it
must beat New Zealand, which was impressive in whitewashing
India.

Results

1st Division

Group A: China bt England 5-0
Liu Yong/Ge Fei bt Nick Ponting/Julie Bradbury 15-7, 17-14
Dong Jiong bt Peter Knowles 15-9, 15-6
Ye Zhaoying bt Julia Mann 11-0, 11-2
Liu Yong/Zhang Wei bt Chris Hunt/Simon Archer 15-9, 10-15, 15-6
Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu bt Jpanne/Donna Kellogg 15-4, 15-7.

Group B: Indonesia bt Sweden 5-0
Sigit Budiarto/Candra Wijaya bt Peter Axelsson/Oar Gunnar Jonsson
15-8, 15-10
Eliza/Zelin Resiana bt Marina Andrievskaya/Catrine Bengtsson 15-
8, 17-15
Joko Suprianto bt Thomas Johansson 16-18, 15-3, 15-9
Mia Audina bt Margit Borg 11-7, 11-8
Tri Kusherjanto/Minarti Timur bt Peter Axelsson/Catrine Bengtsson
15-9, 17-14

3rd Division

Group B:
Scotland 5 Norway 0
New Zealand 5 India 0