DONG JIONG AND FOUR INDONESIANS TOP JAPAN OPEN SEEDS

January 14, 1997 (New Shuttlenws) - At the five-star Japan Open badminton tournament that is being held this week, Dong Jiong of China, the Olympic silver medal holder, leads the entries in the men's singles competition. The top seeds in the other four events are from Indonesia: Mia Audina (women's singles), Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky (men's doubles), Rosiana Zelin and Eliza (women's doubles), and the pair of Tri Kusheryanto and Minartin Timur (mixed doubles).

The men's singles champion from this past weekend's Taipei Open, Peter Gade- Christensen of Denmark, is seeded 9-16. Women's singles champion Camilla Martin of Denmark is seeded 3-4. Men's doubles winners Sigit Budiarto and Chandra Wijaya are rated 3-4 while women's doubles champions Yim Kyung Jin and Park Soo Yun, a new Korean combination, are unseeded and are in the Zelin/Eliza bracket.

Thomas Lund of Denmark, who many fellow players and observers had thought was retiring after the Copenhagen Masters in December, is scheduled to be in action with partner Jon Holst-Christensen in the men's doubles where they are seeded 5-8.

The Indonesian women's singles ace, Susi Susanti, is also scheduled to play but not in her speciality. She is entered in the women's doubles with Finarsih. Susanti and Finarsih had played together in two tournaments late last year. They are unseeded and are in the same bracket as 3-4 seeds Marlene Thomsen and Lisbet Stuer-Lauridsen.

Ardi Wiranata of Indonesia who is on the comeback trail after a bout with hepatitis is also scheduled to play in the men's singles event and is not seeded. He is in the same bracket as top-seed Dong Jiong.

Peter Rasmussen, the up-and-coming Danish men's singles player and a hero in Denmark's silver medal-winning Thomas Cup campaign last year, also returns to action after a long injury break. He is also unseeded. He is bracketed with 5-8 seed Ong Ewe Hock of Malaysia.

Top English mixed doubles player Simon Archer is entered in the tourney with a new partner - Joanne Wright. His regular partner, Julie Bradbury, is expecting a baby and is said to have retired. Archer and Wright are not seeded. Archer is also entered in the men's doubles with Chris Hunt.

Hunt, who with Helene Kirkegaard of Denmark is among the top-rated mixed doubles pair, is entered in the competition with Donna Kellogg.

The seeds (arranged in their relative positions in the draw; numbers indicate seeding):

Men's Singles

1 Dong Jiong (China)
9-16 Kim Hak Kyun (Korea)

5-8 Alan Budi Kusuma (Indonesia)
9-16 Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen (Denmark)

3-4 Fung Permadi (Chinese-Taipei)
9-16 Salim (Indonesia)

5-8 Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia)
9-16 Luo Yigang (China)

9-16 Chen Gang (China)
5-8 Indra Wijaya (Indonesia)

9-16 Park Sung Woo (Korea)
3-4 Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen (Denmark)

9-16 Budi Santoso (Indonesia)
5-8 Sun Jun (China)

9-16 Peter Gade-Christensen
2 Rashid Sidek (Malaysia)

Women's Singles

1 Mia Audina (Indonesia)
5-8 Zhang Ning (China)

3-4 Ye Zhaoying (China)
5-8 Lidya Djaelawidjaya (Indonesia)

5-8 Meiluawati (Indonesia)
3-4 Camilla Martin (Denmark)

5-8 Kim Ji Hyun (Korea)
2 Gong Zhichao (China)

Men's Doubles

1 Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky (Indonesia)
5-8 Ha Tae Kwon/Kang Kyung Jin (Korea)

3-4 Sigit Budiarto/Chandra Wijaya (Indonesia)
5-8 Thomas Lund/Jon Holst-Cristensen (Denmark)

5-8 Zhang Wei/Liu Yong (China)
3-4 Antonius Iriantho/Denny Kantono (Indonesia)

5-8 Tony Gunawan/Rudy Wijaya (Indonesia)
2 Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock (Malaysia)

Women's Doubles

1 Rosiana Zelin/Eliza (Indonesia)
5-8 Aiko Miyamura/Akiko Miyamura (Japan)

3-4 Tang Yongshu/Qin Yiyuan (China)
5-8 Rikke Olsen/Helene Kirkegaard (Denmark)

5-8 Marina Andrievskaya/Christine Gandrup (Sweden)
3-4 Marlene Thomsen/Lisbet Stuer-Lauridsen (Denmark)

5-8 Majken Vange/Ann Jorgensen (Denmark)
2 Ge Fei/Gu Jun (China)

Mixed Doubles

1 Tri Kusheryanto/Minarti Timur (Indonesia)
5-8 Jens Eriksen/Marlene Thomsen (Denmark)

3-4 Chen Xingdong/Peng Xingyong (China)
5-8 Thomas Stavngaard/Ann Jorgensen (Denmark)

5-8 Lee Dong Soo/Park Soo Yun (Korea)
3-4 Nimpele Flandy/Rosalina Riseu (Indonesia)

5-8 Peter Axelsson/Catrine Bengtsson (Sweden)
2 Michael Sogaard/Rikke Olsen (Denmark)