WORLD GRAND PRIX FINALS: INDONESIANS FALTER IN MEN'S SINGLES

** 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 **

December 13, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Host Indonesia's hopes of reasserting its former primacy in badminton men's singles this year came to an end yesterday during the final day of the round-robin phase of the World Grand Prix Finals being staged at the Senayan Stadium in Jakarta. Hermawan Susanto, the only Indonesian who had remained undefeated in the competition and the only one from the host team who started the day with a good chance of making the semifinals, was defeated by Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark 13-15, 15-7 and 15-8.

Susanto had started out well in the match against Hoyer. The Indonesian player was aggressive from the beginning and got Hoyer off-balance with his attacking play. Hoyer was unable to cope with Susanto's shots and made many errors in the first game. Susanto moved to a commanding 13-8 lead before Hoyer's shots began to click. The Dane rallied to close the gap but Susanto was able to get to game point. Hoyer got closer at 13-14 and was threatening to force the game to deuce. Susanto though settled down and tallied a point to win at 15-13.

However, Hoyer had the proverbial momentum. He had started to time Susanto's smashes and his defense had begun to take the sting out of the Indonesian's shots. The Dane's fine touch at the net and deception also began to put Susanto off-balance. With his game back in almost error-free form , Hoyer easily took the second and third sets 15-7 and 15-8 to move ahead into the semifinals.

Hoyer's young teammate Peter Gade Christensen also made it to the semifinals. Gade defeated China's Luo Yigang 17-16 and 15-7 to take the semifinal berth allotted to the winner of Group A.

China's two men's singles aces, Dong Jiong and Sun Jun, took the other spots in the semifinals with victories yesterday. Dong beat current world champion Peter Rasmussen 15-4 and 15-6 while Sun defeated the 1995 world champion, Hariyanto Arbi of Indonesia, 15-4, 13-15 and 15-7.

Hoyer and Dong will tangle in one of the semifinals today in a rematch of the Atlanta Olympic Games final, while Gade will play Sun.

There was some controversy in the women's doubles event yesterday. World champions Ge Fei and Gu Jun went down to defeat at the hands of teammates Qiang Hong and Liu Lu 7-15 and 4-15. With their unexpected lopsided victory, Qiang and Liu were able to nose out Indonesia's Indarti Isolina and Denyana Lomban for a spot in the semifinals, where they will play teammates Qin Yiyuan and Tang Yongshu. Ge Fei and Gu Jun will be matched against Eliza Nathanael and Resiana Zelin of Indonesia in the other semifinal.

The performance of Ge Fei and Gu Jun was so off-form that Christian Hadinata, the Indonesian team manager, filed a protest with the tournament referee.

In women's singles, Camilla Martin of Denmark surprised Indonesia's Mia Audina 12-11, 4-11 and 11-8 to knock the Indonesian ace out of the running for the semifinal spot out of Group D and to put China's Wang Chen into the final four.

The other semifinalists in the women's singles event are Susi Susanti of Indonesia, Gong Zhichao of China and world champion Ye Zhaoying of China. Susanti will play Gong while Wang will battle Ye.

In men's doubles, Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen scored a minor upset when they defeated Denny Kantono and Antonius Iriantho of Indonesia 15-8 and 15-13 to grab a spot in the semifinals opposite Malaysia's Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock. World champions Chandra Wijaya and Budiarto Sigit of Indonesia face Olympic champions Subagja and Mainaky, also from Indonesia, in the other men's doubles semifinal.

In mixed doubles, Indonesia's Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur, China's Liu Yong and Ge Fei, Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Marlene Thomsen, and Indonesia's Bambang Suprianto and Rosalina Riseu qualified for the semifinals where Heryanto and Timur will play Eriksen and Thomsen, and Liu and Ge will match up against Bambang Suprianto and Riseu.

Yesterday's full results:

MEN'S SINGLES:
Group A-
Peter Gade Christensen (Denmark) beat Luo Yigang (China) 17-16, 15-7
Budi Santoso (Indonesia) beat Allan Budi Kusuma (Indonesia) 15-9, 15-1
Group B-
Sun Jun (China) beat Heryanto Arbi (Indonesia) 15-4, 13-15, 15-7
Marleve Mainaky (Indonesia) beat Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen (Denmark) 15-7, 15-11
Group C-
Dong Jiong (China) beat Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) 15-4, 15-6
Hendrawn (Indonesia) beat Ardy B. Wiranata (Indonesia) 8-15, 15-7, 15-8
Group D-
Poul-EriK Hoyer-Larsen (Denmark) beat Hermawan Susanto (Indonesia) 13-15, 15-7, 15-8
Indra Wijaya (Indonesia) beat Chen Gang (China) 15-3, 15-9

WOMEN'S SINGLES:
Group A-
Susi Susanti (Indonesia) beat Dai Yun (China) 11-, 12-10
Group B-
Gong Zhichao (China) beat Marina Andrievskaya (Sweden) 11-4, 11-2
Group C-
Ye Zhaoying (China) beat Yao Yan (China) 11-2, 11-3
Group D-
Camilla Martin (Denmark) beat Mia Audina (Indonesia) 12-11, 4-11, 11-8

MEN'S DOUBLES:
Group A-
Chandra Wijaya/Budiarto Sigit (Indonesia) beat Jon Holst-Christensen/Michael Sogaard (Denmark) 10-15, 15-11, 15-4 Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock (Malaysia) beat Hermono/Hian Eng (Indonesia) 15-1, 15-10
Group B-
Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky (Indonesia) beat Lee Dong Soo/Yoo Yung Sung (Korea) 16-18, 15-12, 15-5
Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen (Denmark) beat Denny Kantono/Antonius Budi Iriantho (Indonesia) 15-8, 15-13

WOMEN'S DOUBLES:
Group A-
Qiang Hong/Liu Lu (China) beat Ge Fei/Gu Jun (China) 15-7, 15-4
Indarti Isoliana/Denyana Lomban (Indonesia) beat Haruko Matsuda/Yoshiko Iwata (Japan) 15-12, 15-7
Group B-
Qin Yiyuan/Tang Yongshu (China) beat Eliza Nathanael/Rosiana Zelin (Indonesia) 15-7, 15-3
Helene Kirkegaard/Rikke Olsen (Denmark) beat Liu Zhong/Huang Nanyan (China) 15-4, 5-15, 15-5

MIXED DOUBLES:
Group A-
Liu Yong/Ge Fei (China) beat Michael Sogaard/Rikke Olsen (Denmark) 9-15, 15-8, 15-3
Trikus Heryanto/Minarti Timur (Indonesia) beat Imam Tohari/Ema Ermawati (Indonesia) 15-5, 15-8
Group B-
Bambang Suprianto/Rosalina Riseu (Indonesia) beat Jens Eriksen/Marlene Thomsen (Denmark) 15-6, 15-8
Sandiarto/Finarsih (Indonesia) beat Chris Hunt/Donna Kellogg (England) walkover

(fontanilla/dsimmons)