DUTCH OPEN: TOP PLAYERS SKIP DEN BOSCH

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS REPORT is presented by badminton world champions YANG YANG (1987 and 1989) and ZHAO JIAN HUA (1991) and by YANG YANG BADMINTON PRODUCTS **

October 7, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The world's top-rated badminton players are bypassing the Dutch Open tournament being held in 'sHertogenbosch (Den Bosch) this week. The Indonesians and the Chinese who skipped the four-star US$120,000 German Open at Saarbrucken this past week continue to be absent from the international circuit due to continental and national Olympic-style sports festivals which are scheduled for mid-October. The Indonesians are hosting the South East Asian Games in Jakarta, while the Chinese are staging a revival of the All-China Games.

The top Danes like Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen, Peter Gade Christensen, Peter Rasmussen, Camilla Martin, Helene Kirkegaard, and Rikke Olsen have chosen to go home and to rest up for the four-star Danish Open being held next week.

Even Jeroen van Dijk, the host country's top men's singles player who is rated among the twenty best in the world, is not entered in the tournament, although his absence may be due to other reasons.

Due to the lack of a major sponsor, the Dutch Open is this year offering a purse of only US$30,000 and has only been rated a one-star event by the International Badminton Federation. The smallish purse and the low rating have also caused the top players to stay away.

The Dutch Open seeds:

MEN' SINGLES
1. Wong Choon Hann (Malaysia)
2. Henrik Bengtsson (Sweden)
3. Chris Bruil (Netherlands)
4. Pullela Gopichand (India) 5. Martin Lundgaard Hansen (Denmark)
6. Oliver Pongratz (Germany)
7. Dicky Palyama (Netherlands)
8. Anders Boesen (Denmark)

WOMEN'S SINGLES
1. Judith Meulendijks (Netherlands)
2. Mette Sorensen (Denmark)
3. Kelly Morgan (Wales)
4. Julia Mann (England)
5. Anne Gibson (Scotland)
6. Katarzyna Krasowska (Poland)
7. Brenda Beenhakker (Netherlands)
8. Lisa Campbell (Australia)

MEN'S DOUBLES
1. Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen (Denmark)
2. Nick Ponting/John Quinn (England)
3. Peter Blackburn/David Bamford (Australia)
4, Svetoslav Stojanov/Michail Popov (Bulgaria)

WOMEN'S DOUBLES
1. Monique Hoogland/Erica van den Heuvel (Netherlands)
2. Nicole van Hooren/Brenda Conijn (Netherlands)
3. Emma Chaffin/Sarah Hardaker (England)
4. Pernille Harder/Mette Schjoldager (Denmark)

MIXED DOUBLES
1. Peter Blackburn/Rhonda Cator (Australia)
2. Quinten van Dalm/Nicole van Hooren (Netherlands)
3. Jonas Rasmussen/Ann-Lou Jorgensen (Denmark)
4. Julian Robertson/Lorraine Cole (England)

(dsimmons)