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World Championships: Mixed Champions And Number One Pair To Clash

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

May 20, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Liu Yong and Ge Fei of China, the defending mixed doubles badminton world champions, today set up a semifinal clash with the current world number ones Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyung Min of Korea at the world individual championships in Brondby near Copenhagen, Denmark. Liu and Yong defeated Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager of Denmark 15-13 and 15-5 in one of the quarterfinal matches played this evening.

Kim, one of the 1996 Olympic mixed doubles gold medalists, and Ra, a mixed doubles silver medal winner at the same Olympic Games, put out Danes Jon Holst-Christensen and Ann Jorgensen 15-1 and 15-10 in their quarterfinal match to qualify for the final four.

England's Simon Archer and Joanne Goode, the second seeds at the tournament and 1999 winners of badminton's version of tennis' Wimbledon - The All-England Open, also booked their place in the semifinals and made certain of at least a world championships bronze medal. Archer and Goode defeated Bambang Suprianto and Rosiana Zelin of Indonesia 15-7 and 15-9 in their matchup this evening.

Archer and Goode will battle Denmark's Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen in one of tomorrow evening's mixed doubles semifinal matches. Sogaard and Olsen survived a three-set quarterfinal challenge from Koreans Ha Tae Kwon and Chung Jae Hee 15-9, 7-15 and 15-7.

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