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French Open: China Dominates

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

March 22, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - China dominated the French Open international badminton championships that was held last week (March 18 to 21) in Paris, winning four of the five titles at stake in the A-rated tourney. The Chinese badminton association had fielded several of their top players on special invitation by the French badminton federation, instead of sending them to the higher-rated (one-star) and richer Swiss Open that was also being staged last week.

The Chinese squad was led by Chen Gang, one of China's top men's singles players, Zhou Mi, a world top ten women's singles specialist, and Qin Yiyuan, one of the world's best women's doubles players. They were several notches better than the rest of the field at the tournament. Chen finished with two championship wins - the men's singles and the mixed doubles. Qin took two titles - the women's doubles and the mixed doubles, while Zhou captured the women's singles crown.

England's Anthony Clark and Ian Sullivan won the men's doubles event.

Following are some unofficial results from the French Open:

Men's Singles
Quarterfinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Chen Gang (China) beat Abhinni Shyam Gupta (India) 13-15, 15-10, 15-3
Ng Wei (Hong Kong) beat Nikhil Kanetkar (India) 8-15, 15-6, 17-14
Arturo Ruiz (Spain) beat Joachim Fischer (Denmark) 15-11, 15-10
Pullela Gopi Chand (India) beat Martin Hagberg (Sweden) 15-10, 15-13

Semifinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Chen beat Ng 15-6, 13-15, 15-5
Gopi Chand beat Ruiz 15-3, 15-6

Finals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Chen beat Gopi Chand 15-8, 10-15, 15-10

Women's Singles
Quarterfinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Zhou Mi (China) beat Heike Schonharting (Germany) 11-1, 11-4
Woon Sze Mei (Malaysia) beat Heidi Dossing (Germany) 11-2, 11-7
Aparna Popat (India) beat Ling Wan Ting (Hong Kong) 7-11, 11-8, 11-4
Ella Karachkova (Russia) beat Ng Mee Fen (Malaysia) 11-2, 11-2

Semifinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Zhou beat Woon 11-0, 11-1
Popat beat Karachkova 11-7, 11-6

Finals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Zhou beat Popat 11-0, 11-2

Men's Doubles
Quarterfinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Ma Che Kong and Yau Kwun Yuen (Hong Kong) beat Peter Jeffrey and Graham Hurrell (England) 10-15, 15-6, 15-9
Robert Mateuziak and Michail Logosz (Poland) beat Joachim Fischer and Kasper Oedum (Denmark) 8-15, 15-6, 15-8
Svetoslav Stoyanov and Mihail Popov (Bulgaria) beat Norbert Van Barneveld and Jurgen Van Leeuwen (Netherland) 15-6, 15-4
Anthony Clark and Ian Sullivan (England) beat Frederik Bergstrom and Henrik Andersson (Sweden) 4-15, 15-9, 15-9

Semifinals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Mateuziak and Logosz beat Ma and Yau 17-16, 4-15, 15-10
Clark and Sullivan beat Stoyanov and Popov 15-12, 15-12

Finals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Clark and Sullivan beat Mateuziak and Logosz 15-11, 15-10

Women's Doubles
Quarterfinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Qin Yiyuan and Gao Ling (China) beat Britta Andersen and Lene Mork (Denmark) 15-7, 15-7
Chan Mei Mei and Koon Wai Chee (Hong Kong) beat Ginny Severien and Karina De Wit (Netherland) 17-14, 15-13
Katrin Schmidt and Michaela Pfeiffer (Germany) beat Neli Neidalkova and Rayna Tzvetkova (Bulgaria) 15-4, 15-8
Ang Li Peng and Chor Hooi Yee (Malaysia) beat Lorraine Cole and Tracey Dineen (England) 15-13, 15-6

Semifinals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Qin and Gao beat Chan and Koon 15-2, 15-7
Ang and Chor beat Schmidt and Pfeiffer 15-5, 15-9

Finals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Qin and Gao beat Ang and Chor 15-0, 15-3

Mixed Doubles
Quarterfinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Chen Gang and Qin Yiyuan (China) beat Andrej Pohar and Maja Pohar (Slovenia) 15-2, 15-0
Pavel Uvarov and Ell Karachkova (Russia) beat Steen Poulsen and Britta Andersen (Denmark) 17-16, 15-7
Ian Sullivan and Gail Emms (England) beat Hugo Rodrigues and Ana Ferreira (Portugal) 15-11, 15-3
Ma Che Kong and Koon Wai Chee (Hong Kong) beat Patrik Isaksson and Johanna Persson (Sweden) 15-8, 15-4

Semifinals (played on Saturday, March 20)
Chen and Qin beat Uvarov and Karachkova 15-4, 15-5
Sullivan and Emms beat Ma and Koon 15-5, 17-15

Finals (played on Sunday, March 21)
Chen and Qin beat Sullivan and Emms 15-12, 15-12

(ds)

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