KOREAN OPEN: INDONESIANS NEARLY WALK OUT
by Martin Coe
(from reports filed by YANG YANG BADMINTON EQUIPMENT)

January 21, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The Indonesian contingent at the six-star, US$250,000 Korean Open badminton tournament nearly walked out of the competition on opening day today. The Indonesians were angered by sudden changes to the playing schedule which they felt put their players at a disadvantage.

Cooler heads prevailed and the Indonesians remained in the tournament that is being staged at the Olympic Hall in Seoul. The Indonesians though filed a strong note of protest with the official representative of the International Badminton Federation who is supervising the tournament.

The changes in the schedule and the wintry Korean weather did not affect the Indonesian results today as all the Indonesians who saw action won their matches. Cindana who was one of the players whose playing time was moved up did have a tougher women's singles match than expected against Japan's Hiroko Nagamine.

Because of the schedule change, Cindana had to rush to the playing hall to avoid defaulting and she had little time to warm up for her match. She dropped a game to Nagamine but still managed to outplay her 11-3, 7-11 and 11-4.

Other first day results (partial):

Men's Singles
Pang Chen (Malaysia) beat Bae Di Gae (Korea) 15-10 and 15-4
Kevin Han (USA) beat Wong Choon Han (Malaysia) 18-13, 8-15 and 15-7
Henrik Bengtsson (Sweden) beat Ramesh Nathan (Malaysia) 15-12 and 15-9
Tomas Johansson (Sweden) beat Zainal Yusof (Malaysia) 15-9 and 15-9
Nunung Subandoro (Indonesia) beat Hiroshi Shimizu (Japan) 15-3 and 15-6

Women's Singles
Marina Andrievskaya (Sweden) beat Park Yon Kyung (Korea) 9-12, 11-5 and 11-0
Ellen Engelina (Indonesia) beat Park Jin Hyun (Korea) 11-6 and 11-0

Men's Doubles
Jens Eriksen/Christian Jakobsen (Denmark) beat Daniel Eriksson/Henrik Bengtsson (Sweden) 15-7 and 15-13
Kim Jong Wong/Lee Kwang Jin (Korea) beat Johan Tholinsson/D Bengtsson (Sweden) 15-10, 8-15 and 15-8

Women's Doubles
Eliza Nathanael/Zelin Resiana (Indonesia) beat Park Yoon Kyung/Lee Soon Deuk (Korea) 15-8 and 15-3
Indarti Isolina/Denyana Lomban (Indonesia) beat Hiroko Nagamine/Satomi Igawa (Japan) 15-8 and 15-5

Mixed Doubles, First Round
Johan Tholinsson/Marina Andrievskaya (Sweden) beat Lee Wei-jen/Chao Hui-hun (Taipei) 15-11, 10-15 and 15-4

Mixed Doubles, Second Round
Tri Kusheryanto/Minarti Timur (Indonesia) beat Zhang Wei/Tang Yongshu (China) 15-6 and 15-7
Nimpele Flandy/Rosalina Riseu (Indonesia) beat Nikolaj Zuev/Nadezda Chervjakova (Russia) 15-2 and 15-4
Chen Xingdong/Peng Xingyong (China) beat Jens Olsson/Astrid Crabo (Sweden) 15-9 and 15-10
Chris Hunt/Donna Kellogg (England) beat Johan Tholinsson/Marina Andrievskaya (Sweden) 15-11 and 15-2
Peter Axelsson/Catrine Bengtsson (Sweden) beat Christian Jakobsen/Majken Vange (Denmark) 15-5 and 15-7