WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: COACHLESS U.S.A. TRIUMPHS OVER ICELAND

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May 19, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Team U.S.A., reeling from the resignation of national coach Steve Butler and beset by service fault calls, defeated Iceland 4 matches to 1 in the team's opening Group 4A fixture at badminton's world mixed team championships (Sudirman Cup) in Glasgow, Scotland this afternoon.

Butler, a former top English international player with several Grand Prix tournament win under his belt who was widely expected to coach the U.S.A.'s elite players until after the 2000 Olympic games, had tendered his resignation recently after several rumoured incidents of interference by members of the American badminton association board of directors over training methods.

Butler, whose resignation has not been accepted, is not coaching Team U.S.A. at this world championships. Tom Reidy, Butler's assistant, is handling the team as well as playing in the men's doubles.

Reidy is also said to have resigned and is reportedly headed to Sweden to play and coach.

In today's bets-of-five matches fixture against Iceland, Mike Edstrom and Eileen Tang staged a stirring comeback against Arne Thor Hallgrimson and Drifa Hardardottir in the mixed doubles match to stake Team U.S.A. to a one-match lead.

Edstrom and Tang had dropped the first game 8-15 and were on the edge of defeat in the second game as the Icelanders got to match point. Spirited all-court play by Edstrom and steady defense and netplay from Tang got the Americans back into the game at 14-all. Hallgrimson and Hardardottir again got the advantage in the three-point tiebreak but Edstrom continued to cover the open corners to defend against the mixture of drops and thundering smashes from the aptly-named Thor Hallgrimson. Edstrom also scored with smashes to Hardardottir. The Americans took the second in the tiebreak 17-16.

In the third game, the bulky Hallgrimson seemed to have lost some of his power and mobility. Edstrom and Tang took the decider 15-8.

Kevin Han then took on Tryggvi Nielsen in a men's singles match. The lefthanded and lanky Han easily won the first game 15-4 with better mobility and a wider array of shots that included steeply-angled sliced straight and crosscourt dropshots.

Nielsen came back strong in the opening points of the second game as Han struggled with his control. Nielsen got to a 7-2 lead before Han was able to assert his game. A tight net shot brought Han close to Nielsen at 6-7. Then a crosscourt halfsmash gained Han a tie at 7-all.

The two swapped leads until 9-all. At this point, Han's game really started to click as he found and exploited Nielsen's defensive weaknesses. Straight smashes to the Icelander's forehand mixed with crosscourt smashes, surprise round-the-head smashes preceded by several preparatory clears and drops brought Han to game point at 14-10 and a Nielsen net shot error gave Han the victory at 15-10.

In the following women's singles match, Swedish-born Andrea Edstrom showed her great potential with her court coverage and shotmaking. She raced to a 3-0 lead against Vigdis Asgeirsdottir before the Icelandic lady was able to reply.

Asgeirsdottir pulled even and got a short-lived lead as Edstrom seemed to tire, specially when Asgeirsdottir began to attack Edstrom's rear backhand corner. Edstrom elected to reply with tiring round-the-head shots instead of backhand clears and drops, and Asgeirsdottir capitalized with some points.

Edstrom though still was too quick and mobile for the robustly built Asgeirsdottir. Edstrom cleared and dropped her way to an 11-7 first game win.

Edstrom was in complete control in the second, winning at 11-4.

Edstrom's victory clinched the fixture for Team U.S.A. with 3 matches won.

The men's doubles match provided some controversy as the American duo of Tom Reidy and Ignatius Rusli were repeatedly called for service faults for striking the shuttle on the serve with the racket head not completely below the wrist.

The service faults got to the Americans as they kept losing their service turn. Reidy was given a misconduct warning as he loudly complained about one particular service fault call. Rusli for a while began to serve with a forehand motion instead of his usual backhand serve.

Icelanders Broddi Kristiansson and Arni Thor Hallgrimsson took advantage of the distracted Americans to take the first game 15-9.

Reidy and Rusli adjusted their serves somewhat in the second, although they were both hesitant and slow to move after the serve, perhaps concentrating too much on their service motion.

The service fault calls also got to the Icelanders. Although they were not faulted, Kristiansson and Hallgrimsson's service motions were also hesitant and their serves would often find the net or go short.

Reidy and Rusli got their attack game going in the second. The Americans also worked as a team rotating in and out of the attacking position and filling the empty spaces.

The Icelanders on the other hand got their signals mixed several times, leaving open spots for the Americans to land the shuttle on the floor.

Reidy and Rusli took the second 15-5.

The Icelanders got their game going again in the third, racing to a 5-1 lead. Reidy and Rusli then fought back to seize the lead at 6-5 and at 7-6.

However, another service fault call incensed a frustrated Reidy. As he was asking the service judge whether he was expected to serve with the racket head perpendicular to the floor, the umpire gave Reidy a second misconduct warning and awarded a point to the Icelanders, putting Kristiansson and Hallgrimsson even at 7-all.

The Icelanders then scored two more quick points as the Americans again lost their focus due to the officiating.

Reidy though settled his side down momentarily and they got the two points back to tie at 9-all.

In the end, though, the point deduction and service faults took their toll on the Americans' concentration. Reidy and Rusli lost the third 12-15.

In the final match - the women's doubles, the service fault calls had their effect. The American player Tang Yeping was called several times for serving above the waist, while Andrea Edstrom was so overcareful of her serve that she popped the shuttle over the net with enough height for the receiver to kill.

The Icelandic pair of Vigdis Asgeirsdottir and Birna Peterson were not immune to the service fault calls. They lost several service turns for serving with the racket not completely below the wrist.

Despite the distractions of the service faults, Tang and Edstrom were too fast for the Icelanders. Tang was very effective at net, scoring several times with tricky crosscourt netshots that surprised her opposite number.

Tang and Edstrom won the women's doubles 15-6 and 15-7 to end the fixture and to post one win in Group 4A of the world mixed team championships.

The Americans, being in Group 4A, are not playing for the title. They are vying for promotion to Group 3. Only the countries in Group 1 - China, Indonesia, Korea, Denmark, England and Sweden - are playing for the world mixed team championships.

The teams in Group 1 and Group 2 see action starting tomorrow, Tuesday.

Results of fixtures today:

Morning Session
Group 6A
Pakistan beat Guatemala 3 matches to 2
Sri Lanka beat Slovenia 4-1
Group 6B
South Africa beat Mauritius 4-1
Israel beat Jamaica 3-2
Group 8
Lithuania beat Chile 5-0
Armenia beat Greece 3-2

Afternoon Session

Group 4A
Poland beat Bulgaria 5-0
USA beat Iceland 4-1
Group 4B
Wales beat Czech Republic 4-1
Ukraine beat Switzerland 5-0
Group 5A
France beat Portugal 3-2
Belarus beat Belgium 5-0
Group 5B
Ireland beat Peru 4-1
Spain beat Kazakhstan 5-0

Evening Session

(results not yet available)

(martincoe/migrossman)