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COPENHAGEN MASTERS: OLYMPIC CHAMP, WORLD NUMBER 2 TOPPLED

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG Badminton Products and their Western USA agents BADMINTON ALLEY. **

December 27, 1998 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The first day of competition at the all-star Copenhagen Masters badminton tournament started too early for the current Olympic men's singles champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark and for world number two Yong Hock Kin of Malaysia. Both went down to defeat to lower-rated players in the opening matches of round-robin play earlier today.

Hoyer was defeated by Sweden's Thomas Johansson in three games 8-15, 15-7 and 15-7 in a Pool 2 match while Yong was beaten by Indra Wijaya of Indonesia in two sets, 15-11 and 15-11 in a Pool 1 encounter.

In the Hoyer-Johansson match, the Olympic champion was sluggish and visibly off-form in the first game. His Swedish opponent easily raced to an 8-0 lead before Hoyer got a respectable sort of play going. Johansson who stands at a very tall and long-armed 6 feet and 6 inches found Hoyer's shots easy to reach and defend. Hoyer had to try to make his shots better than inch-perfect to the lines and to the top of the net, but he did not have the accuracy that he needed. He went down 8-15 in the opening set.

Hoyer found his range after the change of ends and took the second game 15-7. In the decider, though, he fell quicky behind to the Swede 2-8, 2-12, and 3-14. He managed to stage a short-lived rally of 4 points before Johansson put him away.

Later in the day, the top-seeds, Peter Gade of Denmark in Pool 1 and Sun Jun China in Pool 2, put the upstarts in their places. Gade easily disposed of Wijaya 15-6 and 15-6, while Sun Jun defeated Johansson 15-11 and 15-9.

Gade took advantage of Wijaya's fatigue from his match with Yong and was in full control of the match with very fast and aggressive tactics. Gade combined very deft net shots with powerful and accurate jumpsmashing to subdue Wijaya.

Sun Jun also made hay out of Johansson's having played a three-set match earlier in the day. He used his all-court game to run the tall Swede into the ground and beat him in two sets.

Gade will play Yong tomorrow evening in the last Pool 1 matchup, while Sun and Hoyer will tangle in the Pool 2 finale. Gade only has to win one game against Yong in order to book a place in the championship match. If Gade fails to win one game tomorrow, either Gade, Yong or Wijaya will play in the final, depending on games won-games lost and points for-points against differentials.

Sun has to win against Hoyer tomorrow to make certain his place in the final. If he loses to Hoyer, either he or Hoyer will play in the championship match depending again on games won-games lost and points for-points against differentials.

The newly formed Danish men's doubles combination of Michael Sogaard and Jim Laugessen had a successful debut this evening. Sogaard and Laugessen upset Pool 1 top-seeds and world number threes Simon Archer and Chris Hunt 7-15, 15-9 and 15-3. Indonesia's Ricky Subagja and Antonius Iriantho will play the Danes and later the English pair tomorrow.

China's Zhang Jun and Zhang Wei beat Malaysia's Cheah Soon Thoe and Pang Cheh Chang 15-4 and 15-12 in a Pool 2 matchup. Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen, the Pool 2 top seeds, will see action tomorrow.

In women's singles Pool 1, Zeng Yaqiong of China upended world number 9 Kelly Morgan of Wales 11-1 and 11-6. In Pool 2, Zhang Ning of China defeated Mette Sorensen of Denmark 11-6 and 11-1. Top seeds Camilla Martin of Denmark (Pool 1) and Mia Audina of Indonesia (Pool 2) will play tomorrow.

(es/ds)

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