** HELP!!! Keep NEW SHUTTLENWS going - BUY our sponsor's products. **

KOREAN OPEN: FLU DOWNS GADE; BATMAN, STUER INTO QUARTERS

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

January 15, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The badminton world's top-rated men's singles, Peter Gade of Denmark, fell victim to the flu bug and had to pull out of this week's six-star Korean Open championships before the start of play. Some other players from Denmark have also pulled out. Also missing from the tournament are several top Chinese players - Sun Jun, Dong Jiong, Gong Zhichao, Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun. Because of these last-minute withdrawals, several changes had to be made to the draws.

The reigning world men's singles champion, Denmark's Peter (Batman) Rasmussen, is competing at the Korean Open in a bid to land a spot in the upcoming world championships in May. Rasmussen has been laid off due one injury after another since May of 1998. The Korean Open is only his second tournament since then and he has fallen in the world rankings due to a lack of competition.

The world champion is playing well so far and has moved into the today's quarterfinals. He has so far beaten Lee Tsuen Seng of Malaysia, Thomas Johansson of Sweden and Budi Santoso of Indonesia, the 1998 Hong Kong Open champion. He faces qualifier Jun Jong Bae of Korea today.

Also making a comeback bid and attempting to qualify for the world tourney is 1992 Olympic bronze medalwinner Thomas Stuer of Denmark. Stuer has also been a victim of several injuries last year and has fallen in the rankings. He has also gained today's quarterfinals with victories over Liu Kwok Wa of Hong Kong, Ong Ewe Hock of Malaysia and 1992 Olympic silver medalist Ardy Wiranata, the Indonesian world-beater who now coaches the USA national team and who carries the American colors.

Some of the results from the competition thus far:

Men's Singles
First Round (played Tuesday)
Park Tae Sang (Korea) beat Chung Pei Wei (Malaysia) 15-6, 15-7
James Chua(Malaysia) beat Kim Gi Suk (Korea) 5-15, 15-6, 17-16
Henrik Bengtsson (Sweden) beat Alan Yang (Australia) 17-14, 15-2
Dicky Palyama (Netherland) beat George Rimarodi (Indonesia) 15-13, 15-8
Chen Hong (China) beat M. Rslin Hashim (Malaysia) 17-15, 15-7
Anders Boesen (Denmark) beat Kevin Han (USA) 9-15, 15-9, 15-9
Indra Wijaya (Indonesia) beat Fumihiko Machida (Japan)
Fung Permadi (Taiwan) beat Soren Hansen (Denmark) 15-3, 15-8
Jun Jong Bae (Korea) beat Frederik Kohler (Denmark) 15-10, 15-13
Tjitte Weistra (Netherland) beat Jacek Niedzwiedzski (Poland)
Rashid Sidek (Malaysia) beat Joachim Fischer (Denmark) 15-4, 15-5
Rony Agustinus (Indonesia) beat Boris Kessov (Bulgaria)
Thomas Johansson (Sweden) beat Remy Matthey De L'Etang (Switzerland) 15-2, 15-5
Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) beat Lee Tsuen Seng (Malaysia) 15-7, 15-17, 15-1
Budi Santoso (Indonesia) beat Craig Robertson (Scotland)
Hwang Sun Ho (Korea) beat Keita Matsuda (Japan)
Ardy Wiranata (USA) beat Shon Sheung Mo (Korea)
Kasper Fangel (Denmark) beat Rosobin Jeffer (Indonesia) 8-15, 15-8, 15-6
Thomas Stuer (Denmark) beat Liu Kwok Wa (Hong Kong) 8-15, 15-6, 15-5
Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia) beat Shinji Ohta (Japan) 17-16, 15-3
Ji Xinpeng (China) beat Yap Yong Jyen (Malaysia) 15-7, 15-1
Rikard Magnusson (Sweden) beat Gerben Bruijstens (Netherland) 15-11, 15-6
Yudi Suprayogi (Indonesia) beat Pawel Kaczynski (Poland)
Poul-Erik Hoyer (Denmark) beat Ahn Jae Chang (Korea) 15-7, 15-4
Yeoh Bin Kay (Malaysia) beat Zhu Feng (China) 15-11, 15-8
Pullela Gopi Chand (India) beat Jeroen Van Dijk (Netherland)
Irwansyah (Indonesia) beat Bruce Flockhart (Scotland)
Kenneth Jonassen (Denmark) beat Yuzo Kubota (Japan) 15-3, 15-3
Hideki Yamada (Japan) beat Kasper Oedum (Denmark)13-15, 15-4, 15-12
Han Dong Sung (Korea) beat Ismail Samad (Malaysia) 15-11, 11-15, 15-8
Johan Hadi Kusuma (Indonesia) beat Morten Bundgaard (Switzerland)
Tadashi Ohtsuka (Japan) beat Martin Delfs (Denmark) 15-10, 15-2

Second Round (played Wednesday)
Park Tae Sang beat James Chua 15-5, 15-9
Henrik Bengtsson beat Dicky Palyama 15-11, 15-10
Chen Hong beat Anders Boesen 15-6, 15-9
Fung Permadi beat Indra Wijaya
Jun Jong Bae beat Tjitte Weistra
Rony Agustinus beat Rashid Sidek 15-13, 13-15, 15-7
Peter Rasmussen beat Thomas Johansson 15-10, 15-11
Budi Santoso beat Hwang Sun Ho
Ardy Wiranata beat Kasper Fangel 15-8, 17-14
Thomas Stuer beat Ong Ewe Hock 15-10, 14-17, 15-13
Ji Xinpeng beat Rikard Magnusson 8-15, 15-13, 15-4
Poul-Erik Hoyer beat Yudi Suprayogi 15-4, 15-2
Pullela Gopi Chand beat Yeoh Bin Kay 15-8, 15-11
Kenneth Jonassen beat Irwansyah 14-17, 15-13, 15-11
Han Dong Sung beat Hideki Yamada
Johan Hadi Kusuma beat Tadashi Ohtsuka

Third Round (played Thursday)
Henrik Bengtsson beat Park Tae Sang 13-15, 15-9, 15-9
Fung Permadi beat Chen Hong 8-15, 15-12, 15-8
Jun Jong Bae beat Rony Agustinus 15-12, 11-15, 17-16
Peter Rasmussen beat Budi Santoso 12-15, 15-6, 15-8
Thomas Stuer beat Ardy Wiranata 14-17, 15-4, 15-6
Poul-Erik Hoyer beat Ji Xinpeng 15-7, 15-11
Kenneth Jonassen beat Pullela Gopi Chand 15-6, 15-9
Johan Hadi Kusuma beat Han Dong Sung 10-15, 15-11, 15-5

Women's Singles
First Round (played Tuesday)
Kim Kyung Ran (KOrea) beat Gloria Martins (Nigeria) walkover
Kanako Yonekura (Japan) beat Park Hyo Sun (Korea)
Judith Meulendijks (Netherland) beat Lee Hyo Jung (Korea)
Mette Sorensen (Denmark) beat Katarzyna Krazowska (Poland) 11-3, 11-0
Lidya Djaelawidjaya (Indonesia) beat Ganiyat Oladotun (Nigeria) walkover
Gong Ruina (China) beat Kim Hee Jung (Korea)
Joanna Szleszynska (Poland) beat Folake Odaremi (Nigeria)
Christina Sorensen (Denmark) beat Park Jin Hyun (Korea) 6-11, 11-5, 11-7
Choi Ma Ree (Korea) beat Margit Borg (Sweden) 13-10, 11-8
Lee Jong Boon (Korea) beat Judith Baumeyer (Switzerland)
Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn (Thailand) beat Chan Mei Mei (Hong Kong)
Meiluawati (Indonesia) beat Jun Jae Youn (Korea) 11-2, 11-5
Ng Ching (Hong Kong) beat Shadiat Mustapha (Nigeria)
Kaori Mori (Japan) beat Lee Kyung Ock (Korea)
Lee Joo Hyun (Korea) beat Brenda Beenhakker (Netherland)
Chihiro Ohsaka (Japan) beat Deborah Philipps (Nigeria)

Second Round (played Wednesday)
Camilla Martin (Denmark) beat Marina Andrievskaya (Sweden) 11-3, 11-7
Zhang Ning (China) beat Park So Yun (Korea)
Kanako Yonekura beat Ling Wang Ting (Hong Kong)
Dai Yun (China) beat Lee Kyung Won (Korea)
Judith Meulendijks beat Mette Sorensen 7-11, 11-5, retired
Lidya Djaelwaidjaya beat Karolina Ericsson (Sweden) 11-8, 11-4
Christina Sorensen beat Joanna Szleszynska 11-2, 11-3
Zhou Mi (China) beat Choi Ma Ree
Sijitra Ekmongkolpaisarn beat Lee Jong Boon
Lee Soon Deuk (Korea) beat Yasuko Mizui (Japan)
Meiluawati beat Ng Ching
Lee Joo Hyun beat Chihiro Ohsaka

Third Round (played Thursday)
Camilla Martin beat Kim Kyung Ran 13-11, 11-1
Zhang Ning beat Kanako Yonekura 11-5, 11-6
Dai Yun beat Judith Meulendijks 11-4, 11-6
Gong Ruina beat Lidya Djaelawidjaya 11-3, 11-3
Zhou Mi beat Christina Sorensen 11-5, 11-1
Lee Soon Deuk beat Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn 9-11, 11-9, 11-6
Meiluawati beat Kaori Mori 11-7, 11-7
Lee Joo Hyun beat Si Jin Sun (Korea) 11-6, 11-3

Men's Doubles

First Round (played Wednesday)
Flandy Limpele/Hian Eng (Indonesia) beat Khunakorn Sudhisodhi/Kitipon Kitikul (Thailand)
Michael Sogaard/Jim Laugessen (Denmark) beat Pang Cheh Chang/Cheah Soon Thoe (Malaysia) 17-14, 15-1
Victo Wibowo/Lee Wei-Jen (Taiwan) beat Jonas Rasmussen/Ove Svejstrup (Denmark)
Liu Yong/Yu Jinhao (China) beat Tadashi Ohtsuka/Keita Masuda (Japan)
Yoo Yong Sung/Kim Dong Moon (Korea) beat Chan Chong Ming/Jeremy Gan (Malaysia) 15-12, 15-1
Julian Robertson/Nathan Robertson (England) beat Martin Lundgaard Hansen/ Michael Lamp (Denmark) 15-4, 17-15
Woo Hyun Ho/Jun Jong Bae (Korea) beat Alastair Gatt/Craig Robertson (Scotland)
Tan Kim Her/Rosman Razak (Malaysia) beat Zhang Jun/Zhang Wei (China) walkover
Shinji Ohta/Takuya Takehana (Japan) beat Martin Delfs/Soren Hansen (Denmark) 15-8, 15-11
Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen (Denmark) beat Mark Manha/Howard Bach (USA) 17-14, 15-0
Janek Roos/Thomas Stavngaard (Denmark) beat Ma Che Kong/Yau Kwun Yuen (Hong Kong) 6-15, 15-8, 17-14
Chandra Wijaya/Tony Gunawan (Indonesia) beat Lee Dong Soo/Ha Tae Kwon (Korea) 16-16, 15-12
Joachim Fischer/Kasper Oedum (Denmark) beat Zhu Feng/Chen Hong (China) 15-6, 15-11
Cheah Soon Kit/Choong Tan Fook (Malaysia) beat Park Yong Deuk/Kim Dae Kyun (Korea) 15-6, 15-1

Second Round (played Thursday)
Limpele/Hian beat Sogaard/Laugessen 15-9, 12-15, 15-9
Liu/Yu beat Yoo/Kim
Tan/Razak beat Woo/Jun 15-9, 15-7
Eriksen/Larsen beat Ohta/Takehana 17-14, 15-8
Wijaya/Gunawan beat Roos/Stavngaard 15-6, 15-8
Cheah/Choong beat Fischer/Oedum 15-6, 15-1

(Women's doubles and mixed doubles results were unavailable).

(mc/ds)

** HELP!!! Keep NEW SHUTTLENWS going - BUY our sponsor's products. **