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All-England: Sun Jun Seeded A Lowly Seventh

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

March 9, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Recently crowned World Grand Prix Finals men's singles champion Sun Jun of China, one of the world's top players, has been seeded a lowly seventh at the one hundredth All-England Open badminton championships that is being held this week in Birmingham. The mechanical workings of the seeding system being used by the International Badminton Federation has also resulted in World Grand Prix Finals mixed doubles champions Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyung Min as well as the men's doubles winners Denny Kantono and Antonius Ariantho being unseeded and the world, Olympic and Grand Prix Finals women's doubles titleists Ge Fei and Gu Jun being only seventh seeds.

The Koreans Kim and Ra are considered the best mixed doubles pair playing these days while the Chinese pair of Ge and Gu have won every tournament that they have played in for the past 4 years.

Peter Gade of Denmark is the top pick in men's singles. In women's singles, Camilla Martin, also from Denmark, is the number one seed. Malaysia's Cheah Soon Kit and Choong Tan Fook are the favoured pair in men's doubles. Qin Yiyuan and Gao Ling of China are the first seeds in women's doubles. In the mixed event, Indonesians Bambang Suprianto and Rosiana Zelin have the top position in the draw.

Gade and Sun have been drawn in the same section of the competition and their potential quarterfinal matchup could mean that the All-England men's singles match of the tournament could be played on Friday instead of on finals day on Sunday.

In women's singles, Chinese players Ye Zhaoying, the current world champion who is seeded third, and Gong Zhichao, the world championships silver medalist who is unseeded, are slated to clash in the quarterfinals, if both win their first two matches.

Some of the seeded players may also not be competing. Malaysians Yong Hock Kin and Ong Ewe Hock, seeded ninth and tenth respectively in men's singles, have pulled out. Yong has elected to stay home to help his family thru an epidemic of encephalitis that is raging thru his home state in Malaysia. Ong is still recovering from a leg infection that he picked up during the World Grand Prix Finals two weeks ago.

Following is the complete list of seeds:

Men's Singles - 1. Peter Gade (Denmark) 2. Fung Permadi (Taiwan) 3. Budi Santoso (Indonesia) 4. Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen (Denmark) 5. Kenneth Jonassen (Denmark) 6. Rashid Sidek (Malaysia) 7. Sun Jun (China) 8. Chen Gang (China) 9. Yong Hock Kin (Malaysia) 10. Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia) 11. Hendrawan (Indonesia) 12. Roslin Hashim (Malaysia) 13. Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) 14. Wong Choon Hann (Malaysia) 15. Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) 16. Johan Hadi Kusuma (Indonesia)

Women's Singles - 1. Camilla Martin (Denmark) 2. Zhou Mi (China) 3. Ye Zhaoying (China) 4. Dai Yun (China) 5. Gong Ruina (China) 6. Lidya Djaelawidjaya (Indonesia) 7. Mia Audina (Indonesia) 8. Yasuko Mizui (Japan)

Men's Doubles - 1. Cheah Soon Kit and Choong Tan Fook (Malaysia) 2. Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian (Indonesia) 3. Michael Sogaard and Jim Laugessen (Denmark) 4. Chandra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan (Indonesia) 5. Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen (Denmark) 6. Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky (Indonesia) 7. Victo Wibowo and Lee Wei Jen (Taiwan) 8. Liu Yong and Yu Jinhao (China)
{Women's Doubles - Qin Yiyuan and Gao Ling (China) 2. Eliza Nathanael and Deyana Lomban (Indonesia) 3. Indarti Isoliana and Carmelita (Indonesia) 4. Marlene Thomsen and Rikke Olsen (Denmark) 5. Mette Schjoldager and Ann-Lou Jorgensen (Denmark) 6. Ann Jorgensen and Majken Vange (Denmark) 7. Ge Fei and Gu Jun (China) 8. Joanne Goode and Donna Kellogg (England)

Mixed Doubles - 1. Bambang Suprianto and Rosiana Zelin (Indonesia) 2. Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen (Denmark) 3. Wahyu Agung and Ema Ermawati (Indonesia) 4. Jesper Larsen and Ann-Lou Jorgensen (Denmark) 5. Jon Holst-Christensen and Ann Jorgensen (Denmark) 6. Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur (Indonesia) 7. Simon Archer and Joanne Goode (England) 8. Jens Eriksen and Marlene Thomsen (Denmark)

Entries from the USA include Ardy Wiranata and Kevin Han in men's singles and the pair of Mark Manha and Howard Bach in men's doubles.

Canadian entries include Mike Beres in men's singles, Denyse Julien, Jody Patrick and Charmaine Reid in women's singles, the men's doubles pairs of Bryan Moody and Mike Beres, Brent Olynyk and Iain Sydie, and the Milroy brothers - Will and Bobby, the women's doubles teams of Jody Patrick and Cindy Arthur, Denyse Julien and Charmaine Reid, and Robbyn Hermitage and Milaine Cloutier, and two mixed doubles combinations - Denyse Julien and Iain Sydie, and Robbyn Hermitage and Brent Olynyk.

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