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Grand Prix Finals: World Champions Sun and Martin Fall

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG Badminton Products and their Western Canada agents - MAAKL Corporation, Saint Albert, Alberta (Tel 780-458-2026/ Fax 780-459-8891) **

December 3, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Sun Jun of China, badminton's reigning men's singles world champion, and Camilla Martin of Denmark, Sun's counterpart in women's singles, were both eliminated today from the 1999 World Grand Prix Finals of the sport being staged in Brunei. Sun was beaten by Marleve Mainaky of Indonesia during the last day of the round-robin stage matches today, while Martin was defeated by Gong Zhichao of China.

Sun has been playing with a lower back injury that hampers his ability to bend at the waist without pain. In the first game againt Mainaky today, he put up a valiant effort to try to offset the Indonesian's stepped-up pace and downward-angled shots. He had his chances to take the set from Mainaky but was edged out in a tiebreak 16-17.

In the second set, the Indonesian's tactics began to have a greater effect on the world champion. Sun whose game is based on his quickness specially on defense was much slower to respond to Mainaky's shots. The Indonesian capitalized on Sun's drop in form and took the set 15-9.

Mainaky's win puts him into the semifinals as the Group A winner. He will play teammate Hendrawan who won Group D.

Peter Gade of Denmark took Group C and will face Wong Choon Hann of Malaysia, the winner of Group B.

In today's action, Hendrawan beat Chen Gang of China 15-11 and 15-9 to finish the round-robin stage with an unbeaten record. Gade defeated China's Chen Hong 15-6 and 15-13 in a match that was interrupted by a power failure in the stadium. Gade also finished group play with an unbeaten record and without losing a set.

Wong was beaten by Xia Xuanze of China today 6-15 and 12-15 and ended up tied with the seeded Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia with a 2 win - 1 loss record. Wong went through to the semifinals because he had defeated Hidayat earlier in the competition.

In the women's singles competition, Camilla Martin could not cope with Gong Zhichao's run-and-run style and went down rather easily 6-11 and 7-11. Gong's victory put her into the semifinals as the winner of women's singles Group C. Her teammates won the other three women's singles groups and assured China of the women's singles World Grand Prix Finals crown.

In men's doubles Group A, three pairs ended up tied at the top of the standings, each with 2 matches won and 1 lost. World champions Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon of Korea had the best games won and games lost record and took first place in the group. Malaysians Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah edged out Antonius Iriantho and Denny Kantono of Indonesia for second place and a spot in the semifinals because they had won more games.

In mixed doubles Group A, (Ms.) Ge Fei and (Mr.) Liu Yong of China were clearly the best in their pool with an unbeaten record. The other three pairs in the group though finished the first stage with identical 1 win - 2 loss records, but (Ms.) Rikke Olsen and (Mr.) Michael Sogaard of Denmark had won more games than the other two. They took second place in the group together with a berth in the semifinals.

Following are the results of today's matches (* before the player's name indicates a group seed):

Men's Singles
Group A - Marleve Mainaky (Indonesia) beat *Sun Jun (China) 17-16, 15-9; Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia) beat Arbi Heryanto (Indonesia) by walkover
Group B - *Peter Gade (Denmark) beat Chen Hong (China) 15-6, 15-13; Ji Xinpeng (China) beat Budi Santoso (Indonesia) 12-15, 15-8, 17-14
Group C - *Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) beat Luo Yigang (China) 10-15, 15-3, 15-12; Xia Xuanze (China) beat Wong Choong Hann (Malaysia) 15-6, 15-12
Group D - *Poul-Erik Hoyer (Denmark) beat Fung Permadi (Taiwan) 15-5, 2-15, 15-4; Hendrawan (Indonesia) beat Chen Gang (China) 15-11, 15-9

Women's Singles
Group A - *Dai Yun (China) beat Yasuko Mizui (Japan) 11-6, 11-8; Cindana H. Kusuma (Indonesia) - bye
Group B - *Ye Zhaoying (China) beat Kim Ji Hyun (S. Korea) 11-5, 9-11, 11-2; Zhang Ning (China) - bye
Group C - *Gong Zhichao (China) beat Camilla Martin (Denmark) 11-6, 11-7; Lidya Djaelawidjaya (Indonesia) - bye
Group D - *Gong Ruina (China) beat Mette Sorensen (Denmark) 11-9, 11-3; Zhou Mi (China) - bye

Men's Doubles
Group A - *Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon (S. Korea) beat Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen (Denmark) 15-9, 15-3; Antonius Budi Iriantho and Denny Kantono (Indonesia) beat Choong Tan Fook (Malaysia) and Lee Wan Wah (Malaysia) 11-15, 15-5, 15-10
Group B - *Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yung Sung (S. Korea) beat Flandi Limpele and Eng Hian (Indonesia) 9-15, 15-9, 15-10; Tony Gunawan and Chandra Wijaya (Indonesia) beat Simon Archer and Nathan Robertson (England) 15-6, 15-10

Women's Doubles
Group A - *Ge Fei and Gu Jun (China) beat Joanne Goode and Donna Kellogg (England) by walkover; Chen Lin and Jiang Xuelian (China) beat Helene Kirkegaard and Rikke Olsen (Denmark) 15-12, 10-15, 15-6
Group B - *Chung Jae Hee and Ra Kyung Min (S. Korea) beat Etty Tantri and Cynthia Tuwankotta (Indonesia) 15-5, 15-4; Ann Jorgensen and Majken Vange (Denmark) beat Gao Ling and Qin Yiyuan (China)by walkover

Mixed Doubles
Group A - *Ms. Ge Fei and Mr. Liu Yong (China) beat Mr. Bambang Suprianto and Ms. Resiana Zelin (Indonesia) 15-10, 15-5; Ms. Rikke Olsen and Mr. Michael Sogaard (Denmark) beat Ms. Chung Jae Hee and Mr. Ha Tae Kwon (S. Korea) 15-5, 15-4
Group B - *Mr. Kim Dong Moon and Ms. Ra Kyung Min (S. Korea) beat Mr. Jon Holst-Christensen and Ms. Ann Jorgensen (Denmark) 15-10, 15-9; Mr. Tri Kusheryanto and Ms. Minarti Timur (Indonesia) beat Mr. Simon Archer and Ms. Joanne Goode (England) by walkover

Following are the standings after the completion of the first stage round-robin competition (* before player's name indicates a group seed; ** before player's name indicates a semifinalist):

Men's Singles
Group A
**Marleve Mainaky (Indonesia) 2 matches won - 0 lost (4 games won - 0 lost)
*Sun Jun (China) 1-1 (2-2)
Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia) 0-2 (0 -4)
Heryanto Arbi (Indonesia) 0-0 (0-0)
Group B
*,**Peter Gade (Denmark) 3-0 (6-0)
Chen Hong (China) 2-1 (4-3)
Ji Xinpeng (China) 1-2 (2-5)
Budi Santoso (Indonesia) 0-3 (2-6)
Group C
**Wong Choon Hann (Malaysia) 2-1 (4-3)
*Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) 2-1 (5-3)
Luo Yigang (China) 1-2 (3-5)
Xia Xuanze (China) 1-2 (2-4)
Group D
**Hendrawan (Indonesia) 3-0 (6-1)
*Poul-Erik Hoyer (Denmark) 2-1 (4-4)
Fung Permadi (Taiwan) 1-2 (4-5)
Chen Gang 0-3 (2-6)

Women's Singles
Group A
*,**Dai Yun (China) 2-0 (4-0)
Cindana H. Kusuma (Indonesia) 1-1 (2-2)
Yasuko Mizui (Japan) 0-2 (0-4)
Group B
*,**Ye Zhaoying (China) 2-0 (4-2)
Zhang Ning (China) 1-1 (3-2)
Kim Ji Hyun (Korea) 0-2 (1-2)
Group C
*,**Gong Zhichao (China) 2-0 (4-0)
Camilla Martin (Denmark) 1-1 (2-2)
Lidya Djaelawidjaya (Indonesia) 0-2 (0-4)
Group D
**Zhou Mi (China) 2-0 (4-1)
*Gong Ruina (China) 1-1 (3-2)
Mette Sorensen (Denmark) 0-2 (0-4)

Men's Doubles
Group A
*,**Ha T.K. and Kim D.M. (Korea) 2-1 (5-2)
**Choong T.F. and Lee W.W. (Malaysia) 2-1 (5-3)
A.B. Iriantho and D. Kantono (Indonesia) 2-1 (4-3)
J. Eriksen and J. Larsen (Denmark) 0-3 (0-6)
Group B
**T. Gunawan and C. Wijaya (Indonesia) 3-0 (6-1)
*Lee D.S. and Yoo Y.S. (Korea) 2-1 (4-4)
E. Hian and F. Limpele (Indonesia) 1-2 (4-5)
S. Archer and N. Robertson (England) 0-3 (2-6)

Women's Doubles
Group A
*,**Ge F. and Gu J. (China) 2-0 (4-1)
**Chen L. and Jiang X. (China) 0-2 (3-3)
H. Kirkegaard and R. Olsen (Denmark) 0-2 (1-4)
J. Goode and D. Kellogg (England) 0-0 (0-0)
Group B
*,**Chung J.H. and Ra K.M. (Korea) 2-0 (4-0)
**E. Tantri and C. Tuwankotta (Indonesia) 1-1 (3-3)
A. Jorgensen and M. Vange (Denmark) 0-2 (1-4)
Gao L. and Qin Y. (China) 0-0 (0-0)

Mixed Doubles
Group A
*,**Ge F. and Liu Y. (China) 3-0 (6-1)
**R. Olsen and M. Sogaard (Denmark) 1-2 (3-4)
B. Suprianto and R. Zelin (Indonesia) 1-2 (2-4)
Chung J.H. and Ha T.K. (Korea) 1-2 (2-4)
Group B
*,**Kim D.M. and Ra K.M. (Korea) 2-0 (4-0)
**T. Kusheryanto and M. Timur (Indonesia) 1-1 (2-2)
J. Holst-Christensen and A. Jorgensen (Denmark) 0-2 (0-4)
S. Archer and J. Goode (England) 0-0 (0-0)

Following are tomorrow's semifinal matchups (play starts at 5:00pm Brunei time):

Men's Singles - M. Mainaky (Indonesia) vs. Hendrawan (Indonesia); P. Gade (Denmark) vs. Wong C.H. (Malaysia)
Women's Singles - Dai Y. (China) vs. Zhou M. (China); Ye Z. vs. Gong Z. (China)
Men's Doubles - Ha T.K. and Kim D.M. (Korea) vs. Lee D.S. and Yoo Y.S. (Korea); T. Gunawan and C. Wijaya (Indonesia) vs. Choong T.F. and Lee W.W. (Malaysia)
Women's Doubles - Ge F. and Gu J. (China) vs. E. Tantri and C. Tuwankotta (Indonesia); Chung J.H. and Ra K.M. (S. Korea) vs. Chen L. and Jiang X. (China)
Mixed Doubles - Ms. Ge F. and Mr. Liu Y. (China) vs. Mr. T. Kusheryanto and Ms. M. Timur (Indonesia); Mr. Kim D.M. and Ms. Ra K.M. vs. Ms. R. Olsen and Mr. M. Sogaard (Denmark)

(yyna/ds)