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Thailand Open: China Dominates Men's Singles

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG Badminton Products and their Ontario (Canada) agents - SHAH Enterprises **

July 8, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - China today put its stamp on the men's singles event at the Thailand Open badminton championships when 7 Chinese players stormed into the quarterfinals. Only Malaysia's Rashid Sidek stands in the way of an all-Chinese men's singles semifinals and a certain title for China.

Top seed and world champion Sun Jun lead the Chinese surge with his 15-9 and 15-12 victory over eleventh seeded Peter Janum of Denmark. Third seeded Chen Gang put out Yap Yong Jyen of Malaysia 15-5 and 15-2, while Dong Jiong, the sixth seed, beat tenth-seeded Rony Agustinus of Indonesia 15-11 and 15-2 and seventh pick Chen Hong eliminated twelfth seed Pullela Gopichand of India 15-5, 15-17 and 15-11.

Two Chinese second-stringers scored upsets to join their seeded teammates in the quarterfinals. Xia Xuanze upended second-seed Fung Permadi of Taiwan 15-5 and 15-8, and Ji Xinpeng put out the thirteenth pick Ahn Jae Chang of Korea 15-10 and 15-4.

China's Chen Wei booked his place in the last eight when he beat Park Tae Sang of Korea 10-15, 15-9 and 15-5.

Sidek who beat newly crowned Malaysian champion Luo Yigang yesterday 4-15, 15-13 and 15-11 kept pace with the rampant Chinese men's singles players when he notched an easy 15-3 and 15-4 win over Sirachai Panpatchara of Thailand 15-3 and 15-4.

Following are some of the results from today's women's singles round-of-16 matches:

Dai Yun (China) beat Chen Wen Hsing (Taiwan) 11-0, 11-3
Sujitra Ekmomgkolpaisarn (Thailand) beat Zeng Yaqiong (China) 11-2, 11-7
Zhou Mi (China) beat Duanganong Arunkesorn (Thailand) 11-1, 11-10
Aparna Popat (India) beat Nucharin Teekhatrakul (Thailand) 11-9, 13-10
Lee Kyung Won (Korea) beat Sathinee Chankrachangwong (Thailand) 11-4, 11-6
Zhang Ning (China) beat Machiko Yoneya (Japan) 11-8, 11-1
Huang Chia Chi (Taiwan) beat Yuli Marfuah (Indonesia) 6-11, 11-0, 11-9
Gong Ruina (China) beat Kaori Mori (Japan) 11-3, 11-1

(yyn/ds)