** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG Badminton Products and their Western USA agents Badminton Alley. Keep NEW SHUTTLENWS going - BUY our sponsor's products. **

COMMONWEALTH GAMES: MALAYSIA'S ONG EWE HOCK INJURED

September 13, 1998 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Host country Malaysia held its collective breath for a few moments today when badminton star and gold medal hope Ong Ewe Hock stretched to retrieve a dropshot during a team event match with India and pulled a thigh muscle. Ong seemed to immediately feel great pain and was not able to return opponent Pullela Gopi Chand's shot.

The Malaysian player was one game up and was leading 11-6 in the second set when he suffered his injury. He tried to continue to play after a few minutes of rest but the pain from the injury proved to be too much. After two more rallies, Ong conceded the match to Gopi Chand. He then had to be taken off the court in a stretcher.

Ong's injury put Malaysia one match down in the medal round tie against India. However, the rest of the Malaysian team was too strong for the Indian side and they swept the remaining four matches to gain a 4-1 victory.

After the matches had been completed, Malaysian head coach said that Ong would be taken for medical treatment but that his first impression was that things did not look too good.

Ong will probably not play again in the team event medal round which ends tomorrow with each of the remaining teams playing twice. He may be able to play in the individual events which begin Wednesday. He is the top-seed in the men's singles and has a bye in the first round.

The injury to Ong improves England's chances at a men's team event gold medal although Malaysia still has enough depth to take the championship.

England beat New Zealand 4 matches to 1 in the other men's team event medal round tie today. Kiwi Nick Hall inflicted the only setback to the English side when he upset England number one Darren Hall 11-15, 15-10 and 15-8.

In the women's team event medal round, favored England beat the unseeded Malaysian ladies 3 matches to 2. Joanne Goode and Donna Kellogg provided the clinching victory in the first doubles, defeating Chor Hooi Yee and Lim Pek Siah 15-5 and 15-13.

Surprising India, another non-seeded team which made it thru to the medal round, easily beat Australia 4 matches to 1.

Following are some of the results of the fifth day of badminton team competition at the 1998 Commonwealth Games being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (seeded teams marked with *; names of winning team's players first):

Men's Team
Completion of Preliminary Round
Pool B
Sri Lanka beat Botswana 5-0 (Duminda Jayakody beat Harold Ndaba 15-3, 15-7; T. Edirisinghe beat Tebogo Ofentse 15-5, 15-2; Sampath Fernando beat Kabelo Ofentse 15-0, 15-1; Duminda Jayakody/T. Edirisinghe beat Harold Ndaba/Mmoloki Mothala 15-5, 15-7; Janaka De Silva/Palinda Halangoda beat E. Kebairejang/ Kabelo Ofentse 15-1, 15-3)
Pool C
Wales beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 (Geraint Lewis beat Anil Seepaul 15-1, 15-3; Richard Vaughan beat Darron Charles 15-3, 15-6; Matthew Hughes beat Daron Dasent 15-5, 15-7; John Leung/Hughes beat Anil Seepaul/Darron Charles 15-1, 15-7; Richard Vaughan/Andrew Groves-Burke beat Daron Dasent/Sheldon Caldeira 15-4, 15-2)
Pool D
Brunei beat Ghana 5-0 (Amran Kambar beat Charles Mensah 15-4, 15-12; Mohamad Junid beat Anthony Arthur 15-11, 15-3; Huzaini Mohd. Salleh beat Alexander Ayim 15-8, 15-13; Ermadena Talib/Amran Kambar beat Charles William/Anthony Arthur 15-0, 15-0; Michael Nyau/Fadzli Masri beat Charles Mensah/Alexander Ayim 15-6, 15-10)

Medal Round
England beat New Zealand 4-1 (Darren Hall lost to Nick Hall 15-11, 10-15, 8-15; Simon Archer/Christopher Hunt beat Dean Galt/Daniel Shirley 15-2, 15-2; Mark Constable beat Geoffrey Bellingham 15-0, 15-4; Julian Robertson/Nathan Robertson beat Nicholas Hall/Antonio Gargiulo 15-12, 15-7; Peter Knowles beat Dean Galt 15-9, 15-4)

Malaysia beat India 4-1 (Ong Ewe Hock lost to Gopi Chand Pullela 15-2, 11-8, retired due to injury; Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock beat Jaseel Ismail/Vincent Lobo 15-4, 15-4; Yong Hock Kin beat Nikhil Kanetkar 15-1, 15-9; Lee Wan Wah/ Choong Tan Fook beat George Thomas/Markose Bristow 15-2, 15-6; Wong Choong Hann beat Abhinshyam Gupta 15-6,15-10)

Women's Team
Completion of Preliminary Round
Pool C
Jersey beat Samoa 5-0 (Elizaberth Cann beat Aemalemaloitiafau Wilson 11-0, 11-3; Danielle Le Feuvre beat Phyllis Gordon 11-1, 11-0; Solenn Pastural beat Nellie Gordon 11-4, 11-0; Elizabeth Cann/Danielle Le Feuvre beat Aemalemaloitiafau Wilson/Phyllis Gordon 15-2, 15-5; Solenn Pasturel/Lucy Burns beat Mara Faletoese/Nellie Gordon 15-1, 15-7)

Medal Round
India beat Australia 4-1 (Aparna Popat beat Michaela Smith 11-1, 11-6; Neelima Choudary beat Kellie Lucas 11-4, 11-3; Manjusha Kanwar beat Rayoni Head 11-4, 11-6; Madhumita Bisht/P.V.V. Lakshmi beat Kellie Lucas/Sarah Hicks 15-7, 15-8; Manjusha Kanwar/Archana Deodhar lost to Rhonda Cator/Amanda Hardy 5-11, 6-11)

England beat Malaysia 3-2 (Julia Mann beat Woon Sze Mei 11-8, 11-7; Tracey Hallam beat Law Pei Pei 11-6, 11-7; Rebecca Pantaney lost to Ng Mee Fen 9-11, 4-11; Joanne Goode/Donna Kellogg beat Chor Hooi Yee/Lim Pek Siah 15-5, 15-13; Joanne Davies/Sara Sankey lost to Joanne Quay/Norhashikin Amin 7-15, 15-12, 5-15)

(aplayer/dsimmons)