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

All-England: English Mixed Pair Are World-Class

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

March 14, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The English badminton mixed doubles team of Simon Archer and Joanne Goode showed today that they are a true world-class combination when they won the mixed doubles crown at the 1999 All-England Open championships, the sport's most prestigious title behind the Olympics and the world championships. In today's final, the English duo defeated Koreans Ha Tae Kwon and Chung Jae Hee 15-2 and 15-13.

Making their victory more meaningful were two wins that preceded today's success. In the quarterfinals, they defeated the Grand Prix Finals titleists, Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyung Min of Korea, a pair whom many badminton experts had considered to be the best playing these days. In the semifinals, they put out the top seeds Bambang Suprianto and Rosiana Zelin of Indonesia.

In today's match, the English pair were overwhelming in the first game, racing to a 5-0 lead before the tall Ha was able to pierce Goode's defense with a succession of thundering smashes.

Despite a break in the action when the umpire saw blood dripping from Ha's knee and halted play while Ha bandaged his wound, Archer and Goode continued to build their lead until they had a commanding 12-2 advantage. It was Archer smashing and dropshooting from the rear and Goode patrolling the net. It was Archer making the occasional foray into the front court either to finish off the attack with a kill or to cover on defense or to patrol the net when Goode was forced to the rear by a flick serve or a quick clear. It was Goode doing her part from the rear when she had to, keeping the attack going until the Koreans made a mistake or Archer could rotate back to the rear.

With the score at 12-2, Goode hit a good low serve that landed millimeters past the short service line and that the Korean lady player Chung misjudged. That got the English their thirteenth point. Goode then served low to Ha and the Korean returned the shuttle wide to put the English at game point 14-2.

Another English serve, a brief exchange and the English had the first game won when Ha struck a backhanded drive wide.

In the second game, Archer and Goode continued their scoring ways at least in the early going. Goode opened the scoring with a kill and Archer tallied the second with a crosscourt drive that was too fast for Chung. An error by Ha and the English had a 3-0 advantage.

Back came the Koreans though. Two mistakes by Archer plus a Ha crosscourt smash to Goode's body area and the Koreans were even at 3-all. The Koreans then pulled away to 7-3 lead as Chung got two scores in, one with a good low serve and a second with a killshot off Goode's mistake. Ha accounted for a third with a good low serve and Archer gifted the Koreans with one when he sent a fast service return wide.

It was nervous time for the home crowd. Would Archer and Goode fold?

No. Archer and Goode did not. They came back at the Koreans. Archer increased the power of his smash and finished off an attacking rally with a crosscourt halfkill at Chung. They then scored again when they turned Ha's smash attack and Goode pounded a kill off Ha's off-balance retrieving shot.

The Koreans tallied when Archer hit a service return wide, but Goode, already the holder of an All-England mixed doubles title, having won in 1994 with Nick Ponting, came to the rescue. She stopped the Korean service turn, first with a series of smashes at Chung and then with a kill-kill combination set up by Archer's attack.

The English finally caught up at 8-all and pulled ahead 9-8 on a series of Archer smashes at Chung, and then 10-8 when Archer attacked and defended and attacked again until he pressured Ha into blocking the shuttle into the net.

The English moved further ahead 12-8 but Ha and Chuung staged another fightback and tied the score at 12-all on an Archer jumpsmash mistake. The Koreans then moved a nose ahead 13-12 when Chung got the lucky bounce off the net.

Goode got the serve back with a smash and in the next rally, the English pair got the Koreans to lift the shuttle wide to earn a 13-all tie. Archer then put his side at championship point with a killshot off a loose crosscourt netshot from Chung.

The Koreans fought off championship point, but were not able to score on their service turn.

The English had championship point again, Goode serving. Alas, her low serve was short. One more chance gone. Archer then took his turn. He got his serve safely in and in the ensuing exchange hammered a angled smash that won the championship for himself, for his partner Joanne Goode, for his coach Park Joo Bong, and for England.

Archer and Goode's victory was additionally significant because this was the one hundredth anniversary of the All-England and gave a fitting and glorious end to the celebration.

(mc/ds)

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