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Sudirman Cup: Denmark, Korea In Key Matchup
** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by
YANG YANG Badminton Products and
their Western USA agents BADMINTON ALLEY.
**
May 9, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Denmark and Korea, two of the top contenders
for the 1999 world mixed team championship in badminton, will face each other
in an early key matchup tomorrow evening on the tournament's first day of
action at the Brondby Hall near Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish team is the
top seed in their group and are led by men's singles world number one Peter
Gade Christensen, women's singles world number three Camilla Martin, and
mixed doubles world number threes Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen. The Koreans
will bank on their top-notch doubles specialists - male players Lee Dong Soo,
Yoo Yung Sung, Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon and female players Ra Kyung Min
and Chung Jae Hee.
With the format of the Sudirman Cup mixed team competition featuring three
doubles matches - a men's doubles, a women's doubles and a mixed doubles - and
two singles matches - a men's singles and women's singles - in each team
contest, the outcome of the matchup between host Denmark and Korea is very
much up in the air. Denmark is favored to take the two singles matches, Korea
is a slight favorite to take the men's doubles contest. The women's and mixed
doubles matches are a tossup.
Defending champion China also goes into action tomorrow evening against the
Malaysian team. The Chinese who are the top seeds in their group have a clear
advantage in the women's singles and doubles as well as the mixed doubles. The
Chinese also have a slight edge in the men's singles match with world number
two Sun Jun available to play for their side. The Malaysians may have the
advantage in the men's doubles contest but top players Cheah Soon Kit and
Choong Tan Fook are said to be unhappy partnering each other and may not be
playing at their best.
Sweden and Indonesia are the two other teams in contention for the Sudirman
Cup. Sweden is in the same pool as Denmark, while Indonesia is grouped with
China. The two sides will play on Tuesday evening with Sweden battling Korea
and Indonesia facing Malaysia. On Wednesday evening, Sweden will meet Denmark
and Indonesia will play China.
England is not contending for the Sudirman Cup this year. The English were
relegated to Group 2 during the 1997 championships and will be trying to
earn their way back into the top tier.
The USA is also competing in the Sudirman Cup but are not among the teams
in contention for the championship. They are in Group 4 and are battling for
promotion to the next tier - Group 3. If the USA side has a succesful campaign
this year, they will be contending for promotion to Group 2 in 2001 under the
current Sudirman Cup promotion/relegation system. The earliest that the USA
could be in the top group contending for the world mixed team championship is
the year 2005.
Team USA is led this year by playing coach Ardy Wiranata who is booked to
play men's singles and men's doubles. Wiranata, winner of an Olympic silver
medal in men's singles in 1992 while he was playing for his native Indonesia,
may also play mixed doubles in the team competition. Kevin Han, Mike Edstrom,
Chris Hales, Mark Manha, Yeping Tang, and Lily Chen are the other members of
Team USA.
The USA is seeded ahead of Iceland, Switzerland and Czechia in their half of
Group 4. Poland is the top seed in the other Group 4 pool followed by Wales,
Bulgaria, and Belarus. With Wiranata playing for the USA side, the Americans
stand a good chance of moving up to Group 3.
The Canadians, who were demoted from Group 2 last time around, are the top
seeds in their half of Group 3. Teams that are in the same pool as Canada are
India, Finland, and Austria. Australia is the top pick in the other half of
Group 3 followed by Hong Kong, Norway, and Ukraine.
Following are the Sudirman Cup groups:
Group 1A - Denmark, Sweden, Korea
Group 1B - China, Indonesia, Malaysia
Group 2A - England, Netherlands, Russia, Scotland
Group 2B - Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand
Group 3A - Canada, India, Finland, Austria
Group 3B - Australia, Hong Kong, Norway, Ukraine
Group 4A - USA, Iceland, Switzerland, Czechia
Group 4B - Poland, Wales, Bulgaria, Belarus
Group 5A - France, Peru, Kazakhstan, Israel
Group 5B - Spain, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Belgium
Group 6A - South Africa, Slovakia, Mexico, Lithuania
Group 6B - Mauritius, Cyprus, Brazil, Luxembourg
Group 7 - Argentina, Estonia, Nigeria, Latvia, Zambia
(ibf/ds)
COPYRIGHT 1999 © YANG YANG BADMINTON EQUIPMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Posted With The Permission Of The Copyright Holder.
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