GERMAN OPEN: YOUNG DANE TURNS BACK OLYMPIC CHAMPION

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS REPORT is presented by badminton world champions YANG YANG (1987 and 1989) and ZHAO JIAN HUA (1991) and by YANG YANG BADMINTON PRODUCTS **

October 5, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Peter Gade Christensen, the up-and-coming 21-year old badminton star from Denmark, today spoiled the bid of Olympic gold medalist Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen to win his third consecutive world-class badminton title. In the German Open men's singles championship match played early this afternoon at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken, Germany, Gade beat his 32-year old teammate in three games 12-15, 15-12 and 15-12.

Hoyer, who had beaten Gade in the finals of the U.S. Open three weeks ago, had come into today's match the favorite to defeat the younger Dane. But Gade possessed enough quickness of foot as well as power and accuracy of stroke to counter the Olympic champion's crafty play at the right moments in this afternoon's contest. Gade also had the steadiness of nerve today in the late part of the crucial third game and kept his mistakes down, unlike three weeks ago when he lost the U.S. Open title final in a match-ending spate of errors.

In the opening match of finals day, Camilla Martin, another of the dominant Danes, took the women's singles crown, defeating Sweden's Marina Andrievskaya 11-7 and 11-2 in a match that took less than 30 minutes.

After Gade had taken the men's singles title in the second match, Helene Kirkegaard and Rikke Olsen played fellow Danes Lisbet Stuer-Lauridsen and Marlene Thomsen for the women's doubles championship. Kirkegaard and Olsen prevailed in three games, winning the last two sets 15-5 and 15-8 after being humbled by Stuer and Thomsen in the first 4-15.

Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen finished a very successful tournament for Denmark when they defeated the English pair of Simon Archer and Chris Hunt 15-4 and 15-8 in the men's doubles championship match. Their win completed a Danish sweep of the five 1997 German Open titles.

In the mixed doubles final played last evening, Eriksen had taken the first of his two 1997 German Open crowns when he and partner Marlene Thomsen beat teammates Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen 15-11, 12-15 and 15-6.

(dsimmons)