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World Championships: Gade, Sun, Hoyer Into Semifinals

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

May 21, 1999 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Men's singles world number one Peter Gade of Denmark, world number two Sun Jun of China, and Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark this evening won their quarterfinal matches at the world individual championships in Brondby, Denmark and booked their places in the final four to be played tomorrow.

Joing the three top players in the semifinals is Fung Permadi of Taiwan, the Indonesian team discard who has been achieving better tournament results under the Taiwan flag than the players who took his place on the Indonesian team.

Gade gained his semifinal spot by dethroning defending world champion Peter Rasmussen, also of Denmark. Gade was overwhelming in the first game of his quarterfinal, winning at 15-4. The world number one seemed to also have the second under control but Rasmussen started to motor. His net play improved, his retrieving got better, his smashes began to find the floor and he closed in on Gade's lead.

The defending world champion managed to equalize at 13-all to the delight of the crowd. Gade though showed why is the current world number one, outplaying and outmanuevering Rasmussen to score two key points and win the second at 15-13.

Sun Jun had a similiar semifinal against Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen, another of Denmark's fabulous five men's singles players. Sun took an easy first game from Stuer 15-5 as he frustrated the tall Dane with his defense and with his jumpsmashes and powershots to Stuer's body.

Stuer though came back in the second as he began to use his height and reach more effectively with steeply angled smashes that Sun had a tougher time returning. Stuer's net spinners also began to work.

The Chinese player though still managed to pull away from the tall Dane 12-8, even though he had to work much harder for his points than he had to in the first set. A very deceptive push to Stuer's forehand back corner that wrongfooted the Dane put Sun ahead 13-8. But a determined Stuer kept coming back and he managed to pull even, scoring several times on steeply angled rally-ending smashes.

However, Stuer lost his service turn on an ambitious crosscourt net shot that went out-of-bounds. Sun then capitalized on his turn with a round-the-head crosscourt drop that landed beyoud Stuer's reach. Sun was now at match point.

The Dane fought Sun off once more but then lifted long to lose a scoring chance. Sun once again served for the match. In the short rally that followed, the Chinese player struck a delayed lift that wrongfooted Stuer. The Dane scrambled back but he could only punch a clearing shot as a reply. The clear was a trifle short. Sun leaped up and pounded a smash at Stuer's feet to go through to the semifinals with the score at 15-13.

Olympic champion Hoyer had a difficult first game against Indonesian Sugianto Hendrawan. Hoyer had started out well but the Indonesian's net shots and deception began to click in mid-game and he soon overhauled a mistake-prone Hoyer to win the opener at 15-8.

Hoyer settled down in the second. His net shots began to spin over the net and his smashes began to find the mark. He took the second 15-4 and the third as well 15-4.

In his quarterfinal match, Fung Permadi outlasted Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark 15-13, 12-15 and 15-10. Permadi used his retrieving, his spinning netshots, diving blocks and all-court placement to tire and wear out the powerful Dane. In the end, Jonassen's recently healed Achilles tendon began to give out and his energy reserves were almost gone. Permadi then easily outquicked and outplayed the Dane in the last few rallies to secure his semifinal spot and at least a bronze medal.

Tomorrow's men's singles semifinal matchups will pit youth against experience, West against East. Denmark's twenty-something Gade will play Taiwan's thirty-something Permadi, while China's twenty-something Sun Jun will face Denmark's thirty-something Hoyer-Larsen.

In the women's singles quaterfinal, Mette Sorensen of Denmark ended giant-killer Kelly Morgan's run for the title. Sorensen beat the Welsh player 9-11, 13-10 and 11-8.

Gong Ruina, the world junior champion and the second seed at the tournament, easily disposed of Cindana Hartono of Indonesia 11-3 and 11-2. Third seed Camilla Martin of Denmark put out Zhang Ning of China 11-9 and 11-7.

Dai Yun of China also made it thru to the semifinals. She came back from a frustrating first game to outlast the defensive-minded Lee Kyung Won of Korea 6-11, 11-5 and 11-2.

(mc/ds)