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EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS: FAVOURED DUTCHMAN OUSTED

April 22, 1998 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The highly seeded Dutch men's singles player Jeroen van Dijk was eliminated by Sweden's Thomas Johansson in round- of-16 action today at the European badminton championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Van Dijk, seeded third, lost to the lanky Swede 10-15, 15-12 and 10-15.

Unseeded Mark Constable of England notched his second upset of the tourney today with his defeat of the fifteenth pick - Boris Kessov of Bulgaria. The English player had put out sixth seed Henrik Bengtsson of Sweden yesterday.

Constable's next opponent may not be so obliging. The young Englishman is to play world champion Peter Rasmussen of Denmark in tomorrow's quarterfinals.

Rasmussen, seeded third with van Dijk, had another light day today. He beat the up-and-coming Dutch player Dicky Palyama 15-8 and 15-8.

Men's singles top seed Peter Gade and second seed Poul-Erik Hoyer also came thru to the quarterfinals with victories today.

Women's singles favorite Camilla Martin fought off shoulder and knee pain and eliminated Russian Elena Sukhareva 11-2 and 11-3. Second seed Mette Pedersen, also from Denmark, survived a strong challenge from Karolina Ericsson of Sweden 1-11, 11-9 and 11-8.

Poland's Katarzyna Krazowska upended seventh seed Anne Sondergaard of Denmark 11-4, 9-12 and 11-6.

In men's doubles action, third seeds Chris Hunt and Simon Archer of England are through to the quarterfinals where they will play Quinten van Dalm and Dennis Lens of the Netherlands.

In mixed doubles, Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen of Denmark, Simon Archer and Joanne Goode of England, Germany's Michael Keck and Dutchwoman Erica van den Heuvel are among those who made it thru to tomorrow's round-of-16.

Some of the results from today's action:
Men's Singles
Peter Gade (Denmark) beat Thomas Wapp (Switzerland) 15-8, 15-6
Daniel Eriksson (Sweden) beat Pontus Jantti (Finland) 15-7, 15-5
Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) beat Dicky Palyama (Netherlands) 15-8, 15-8
Mark Constable (England) beat Boris Kessov (Bulgaria) 15-11, 18-17
Kenneth Jonassen (Denmark) beat Colin Haughton (England) 15-12, 15-1
Thomas Johansson (Sweden) beat Jeroen van Dijk (Netherlands) 15-10, 12-15, 15-10
Oliver Pongratz (Germany) beat Rikard Magnusson (Sweden) 7-15, 15-5, 15-8
Poul-Erik Hoyer (Denmark) beat Ruud Kuyten (Belgium) 15-6, 15-10

Women's Singles
Camilla Martin (Denmark) beat Elena Sukhareva (Russia) 11-2, 11-3
Margit Borg (Sweden) beat Tracy Hallam (England) 11-3, 11-7 Judith Meulendijks (Netherlands) beat Anu Weckstrom (Finland) 11-3, 11-3
Mette Sorensen (Denmark) beat Anne Gibson (England) 11-1, 11-2
Katarzyna Krasowska (Poland) beat Anne Sondergaard (Denmark) 11-4, 9-12, 11-6
Kelly Morgan (England) beat Ella Karachkova (Russia) 11-4, 11-5
Brenda Beenhakker (Netherlands) beat Julia Mann (England) 12-10, 12-10
Mette Pedersen (Denmark) beat Karolina Ericsson (Sweden) 1-11, 11-9, 11-8

(aplayer/dsimmons)