WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: ENGLAND DEMOTED

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May 23, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Sweden defeated England this evening 4 matches to 1 in the premier division relegation playoffs at the badminton world team championships. With the loss, England drops down to the second division and will not be able to compete for the world team title in 1999, while Sweden remains in the premier division.

Both England and Sweden had finished at the bottom of their groups in the premier division. England had lost to China and Korea. Sweden had gone down in defeat to Indonesia and Denmark.

England's place in the premier division will be taken by the winner of the second division promotion playoff between Germany and Malaysia. This playoff is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Sweden's Catrine Bengtsson and Marina Andrievskaya started England on their way out of the premier division when they defeated Julie Bradbury and Donna Kellogg 15-10 and 15-10 in the women's doubles match.

Peter Axelsson and Par-Gunnar Jonsson followed with their 15-3 and 15-8 drubbing of Nick Ponting and Chris Hunt in the men's doubles match.

England's Darren Hall tried to stop the English slide in his men's singles match against the 6-foot-five Thomas Johansson. Hall's form was off in the first game and Johansson won easily at 15-7.

In the second, Hall began to find the lines with his shots and was able to come back and take the game in a five-point setting 18-15.

Errors came back to haunt Hall late in the third and Johansson beat him 15-10.

With Hall's loss, the English were no longer in the premier division.

Marina Andrievskaya trounced Julia Mann in a meaningless women's singles match 11-3 and 11-7.

Simon Archer and Julie Bradbury got England's sole win tonight. They beat Peter Axelsson and last-minute substitute Jenny Karlsson in a hard-fought mixed doubles match 15-7, 13-15 and 15-7.

(migrossman)