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COMMONWEALTH GAMES: ENGLAND BAGS GOLD TWICE; MALAYSIA CERTAIN OF TWO

September 19, 1998 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - England won two gold medals today in individual badminton competition at the 16th Commonwealth Games being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The English came into the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in the Cheras district today certain of the gold medal in the mixed doubles event and heavily favoured in the women's doubles.

In the mixed doubles final, top seeds Simon Archer and Joanne Goode easily defeated their teammates Nathan Robertson and Joanne Davies 15-2 and 15-5.

In the women's doubles final, Joanne Goode and Donna Kellogg, the number one seeds, beat the surprising Malaysians Chor Hooi Yee and Lim Pek Siah 15-8 and 15-6. There were no miracles left for the Malaysians who had scored two big upsets in a row before tonight. Goode and Kellogg were too experienced and too well-trained to fold under the pressure of a gold medal match and the loud Malaysian audience.

In the men's doubles semifinals, third seeds Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah of Malaysia eliminated the top-seeded English pair of Simon Archer and Chris Hunt 15-13 and 15-11. Choong and Lee used series after series of devastating smash attacks to defeat the Englsih pair.

Second seeds Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock, also of Malaysia, had problems with Juilan Robertson and Nathan Robertson of England in the second game of their half of the semifinals. Cheah and Yap had an easy first game, winning 15-2. The Malaysians though lost steam in the second and the unrelated Robertsons took it 15-12.

Cheah and Yap got their breath back in the intermission and put their game together in the decider. They beat the English pair 15-8 to ensure Malaysia of a third badminton gold medal to go with the men's team event title and the men's singles crown. Both the men's singles and men's doubles finals that will be played tomorrow will be all-Malaysian affairs.

Following is a summary of today's matches:

Mixed Doubles Final
Simon Archer/Joanne Goode (England) beat Nathan Robertson/Joanne Davies (England) 15-2, 15-5
Men's Singles Semifinals
Wong Choon Hann (Malaysia) beat Gopi Chand Pullela (India) 15-1, 15-11
Yong Hock Kin (Malaysia) beat Darren Hall (England) 15-7, 15-1
Women's Singles Final
Kelly Morgan (Wales) beat Aparna Popat (India) 13-10, 11-5
Men's Doubles Semifinals
Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock (Malaysia) beat Julian Robertson/Nathan Robertson (England) 15-2, 12-15, 15-8
Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah (Malaysia) beat Simon Archer/Christoper Hunt (England) 15-13, 15-11
Women's Doubles Final
Joanne Goode/Donna Kellogg (England) beat Chor Hooi Yee/Lim Pek Siah (Malaysia) 15-8, 15-6

(aplayer/dsimmons)