WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: CHINA, INDONESIA WIN BIG IN OPENERS

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May 20, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Favorites China and Indonesia swept their opponents in their opening fixtures at the world team championships of badminton in Glasgow, Scotland.

China, the defending champion, trounced England 5 matches to none. The Chinese only dropped one game to England in tonight's Group 1A fixture.

Indonesia, runners-up at the last world team championships, also beat Sweden 5 matches to none, dropping only one game in their Group 1B meeting.

Liu Yong and Ge Fei opened for the Chinese with a win over Nick Ponting and Julie Bradbury. Liu and Ge dominated the first game 15-7 but got stiffer opposition in the second as Ponting and Bradbury extended the Chinese pair to a setting or tiebreak at 14-all. Liu and Ge, though, prevailed in the end at 17-14.

Dong Jiong, the world's top-rated men's singles player, operated at three-quarter speed and power, in his 15-9 and 15-6 victory over Peter Knowles.

Defending women's singles world champion got in some court time as she toyed with an outskilled Julia Mann 11-0 and 11-2.

Liu Yong and Zhang Wei had their hands full against Simon Archer and Chris Hunt in the men's doubles. Liu and Zhang took the first 15-9 but the scrappy English pair won the second 15-10. The Chinese got their bearings in the third and they raced to a 15-5 decision.

The Chinese number twos in women's doubles, Qin Yiyuan and Tang Yongshu, ended the English agony with their 15-4 and 15-7 defeat of Joanne Davies and Donna Kellogg.

Sigit Budiarto and Chandra Wijaya played Indonesia's opening match against Swedes Peter Axelsson and Par-Gunnar Jonsson. The two powerful pairs pitted smashes and drops but the Indonesians were the quicker and better pair, winning 15-8 and 15-10.

Resiana Zelin and Eliza took an easy women's doubles first game from Catrine Bengtsson and Marina Andrievskaya 15-8, but the Swedish combination began to click in the second with Bengtsson's court savvy and Andrievskaya's power. The Swedes played the Indonesians close, taking them to a 14-all tiebreak.

In the setting, Zelin and Eliza barely outplayed Bengtsson and Andrievskaya but did score the needed three points to post the victory at 17-15.

In the men's singles, the 6-foot 5-inch Thomas Johansson used his reach to suprise Joko Suprianto in the first set, winning in a five-point setting 18-16.

The Indonesian veteran finally found the holes in Johannson's defense and won the next two 15-3 and 15-9 to clinch the fixture for Indonesia.

Mia Audina then beat Margit Borg in the women's singles matchup 11-7 and 11-8.

In the concluding mixed doubles match, Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur prevailed in a grueling 60 minute battle with Peter Axelsson and Catrine Bengtsson 15-9 and 17-14.

Results of the fixtures this evening:
Group 1A
China beat England 5 matches to none
Group 1B
Indonesia beat Sweden 5-0
Group 3B
Scotland beat Norway 5-0
New Zealand beat India 5-0
Group 7A
Mexico beat Luxembourg 4-1
Cyprus beat malta 4-1
Group 7B
Slovakia beat Argentina 5-0
Italy beat Brazil 5-0

(migrossman)