WORLD CUP: CHINESE, INDONESIANS TOP PICKS

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August 14, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Players from powerhouses China and Indonesia sit as top seeds in most of the badminton World Cup groupings released today by the International Badminton Federation. A Korean men's doubles pair is the sole entry from other than China or Indonesia positioned as a favourite.

China's Dong Jiong, rated as the world's number one men's singles player, is the top pick in Group A. World number two Heryanto Arbi of Indonesia is the favorite in Group D, while the third-ranked Sun Jun of China leads Group C. Indonesia's Joko Suprianto, ranked fourth in the world, is the seed in Group B.

World men's singles champion Peter Rasmussen and Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen, both from Denmark, are not participating. Some of the other top men's singles players like Park Sung Woo of Korea, Fung Permadi of Taipei, Thomas Stuer and Peter Gade of Denmark as well as some top players in the other events are also not competing due to injury, fatigue, retirement or personal commitments.

In the women's singles event, world champion and world number one Ye Zhaoying of China tops Group A. World number two Susi Susanti of Indonesia leads Group D. China's Gong Zhichao, the world number three, is favoured in Group C while Mia Audina of Indonesia, the world number four, is the top pick in Group B.

Olympic champion Bang Soo Hyun of Korea has retired.

In the two singles events, the players within a group will play each other in a round-robin competition. The leading player in each group after the round-robin moves on into the World Cup semifinals where the winner of Group A will play the Group B winner and the winner of Group C will square off with the Group D winner.

In men's doubles, world champions Chandra Wijaya and Budiarto Sigit of Indonesia head the Group A entries, while world number twos Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yung Sung of Korea top Group B. Olympic champions Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky of Indonesia are the second seeds in Group B.

In women's doubles, world and Olympic champions Ge Fei and Gu Jun of China are the favourites, and compatriots Tang Yongshu and Qin Yiyuan, the world number twos, are the top picks in Group B.

In mixed doubles, the world champions from China, Liu Yong and Ge Fei, sit in the pole position in Group A. Indonesians Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur, who are ranked behind the world champions, lead Group B.

Gil Young Ah of Korea, half of the Olympic gold medal-winning pair, has retired. Her partner, Kim Dong Moon, still has to settle on a replacement for Gil.

In the doubles events, the pairs within each group will play the other pairs in the group. The top two pairs in each group will progress to the semifinals where the winner of Group A will meet the second-placer from Group B and the winner of Group B will play the runner-up from Group A.

The World Cup is an invitational tournament for the world's super-elite players and is being held in Yogjakarta, Indonesia from August 20 to 24. It boasts a purse of 200,000 US dollars.

Only 16 men's singles players, 12 women's singles players, 8 men's doubles pairs, 6 women's doubles pairs and 6 mixed doubles pairs have been invited.

The World Cup groupings:

Men's Singles
Group A - Dong Jiong (China), Indra Wijaya (Indonesia), Jeroen van Dijk (the Netherlands), Martin Lundgaard Hansen (Denmark)

Group B - Joko Suprianto (Indonesia), Luo Yigang (China), Thomas Johansson (Sweden), Pullela Gopichand (India)

Group C - Sun Jun (China), Ardy Wiranata (Indonesia), Tam Kai Chuen (Hong Kong), Soren B. Nielsen (Denmark)

Group D - Heryanto Arbi (Indonesia), Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia), Darren Hall (England), Hwang Sun Ho (Korea)

Women's Singles
Group A - Ye Zhaoying (China), Meiluawati (Indonesia), Takako Ida (Japan)

Group B - Mia Audina (Indonesia), Kim Ji Hyun (Korea), Marina Andrievskaya (Sweden)

Group C - Gong Zhichao (China), Lee Joo Hyun (Korea), Pornsawan Plungwech (Thailand)

Group D - Susi Susanti (Indonesia), Wang Chen (China), Judith Meulendijks (the Netherlands)

Men's Doubles
Group A - Chandra Wijaya/Budiarto Sigit (Indonesia), Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah (Malaysia), Tao Xiaoqiang/Ge Cheng (China), Peter Axelsson/Par-Gunnar Jonsson (Sweden)

Group B - Lee Dong Soo/Yoo Yung Sung (Korea), Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky (Indonesia), Andrej Antropov/Nikolaj Zuev (Russia), Chris Hunt/Simon Archer (England)

Women's Doubles
Group A - Ge Fei/Gu Jun (China), Indarti Isoliana/Denyana Lomban (Indonesia), Nicola Beck/Joanne Davies (England)

Group B - Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu (China), Rosiana Zelin/Eliza (Indonesia), Chen Li-Chin/Tsai Huey-Min (Taipei)

Mixed Doubles
Group A - Liu Yong/Ge Fei (China), Imam Tohari/Ema Ermawati (Indonesia), Peter Axelsson/Catrine Bengtsson (Sweden)

Group B - Trikus Heryanto/Minarti Timur (Indonesia), Limpele Flandy/Rosalina Riseu (Indonesia), Michael Keck (Germany)/Erica van den Heuvel (the Netherlands)

(mig)