MY: BADMINTON: Thriller from Pang Chen
Sooraj Nair
* POSTED WITH PERMISSION *
* Copyright Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd *
* The Star Online, http://www.jaring.my/star/ *
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National champion downs China's Sun Jun in Tokyo
TOKYO: National badminton champion Pang Chen was the Malaysian star of
the day in the Japan Open yesterday.
He picked up a 15-12, 8-15, 17-14 second-round win over former Chinese
world junior champion Sun Jun to make up for his first-round exit at
the Taiwan Masters last week.
Pang Chen gave a matured performance to upstage his more illustrious
opponent, who is best remembered for his win over world champion
Hariyanto Arbi in a Sudirman Cup match against Indonesia last year.
However, Pang Chen faces yet another big battle in the third round
against reigning All-England champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of
Denmark.
Three other Malaysians -- Rashid Sidek, Lo Ah Heng and Ong Ewe Hock --
also made it to the third round. They, too, will face tough opponents.
Rashid, the losing finalist in Taiwan, defeated Holland's Joris van
Soerland 15-8, 15-7 and will play against second seed Joko Suprianto
of Indonesia.
Joko was a comfortable winner, when he played against Rashid in the
SEA Games in Chiang Mai last month.
Ah Heng defeated Hong Kong's Tam Kai-chuen 15-12, 15-10 but is not
expected to get past China's Hu Zhilan in the third round today.
Ewe Hock faces Barcelona Olympics champion Alan Budi Kusuma and he
appears to be the best Malaysian bet to get past the third round.
Ewe Hock, who scrapped to a 18-15, 15-10 win over unheralded
Australian Craig Booley, has a good record against Alan. He beat the
Indonesian in two meetings in 1994.
Two other Malaysian singles players were eliminated in the second
round.
Yong Hock Kin fell to a shock 15-10, 16-17, 12-15 defeat by Taiwan's
Ding Jyh-cherng while Ismail Samad was beaten 9-15, 15-8, 10-15 by
Soren Nielsen of Denmark.
In the doubles, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, who are expected to be
named in the squad for the Thomas Cup qualifying rounds next month,
suffered a setback.
They were beaten 10-15, 8-15 by Hong Kong's Tim He-Chan Siu Kwong.
The plans of the Yap twins, Yee Hup and Yee Guan, to get valuable
points to qualify for the Atlanta Olympics were also derailed. They
slumped to a 7-15, 4-15 defeat by Koreans Lee Dong-soo-Ha Tae-kwan.
Two other Malaysian pairs, however, moved into the third round.
World Grand Prix champions Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock received a
walkover from Americans Kevin Han-Thomas Reidy while Rosman Razak-Chew
Chun Eng beat Chow Kin Man-Ma Che-Kong of Hong Kong 15-6, 15-8 in the
second round.
Results
MEN'S SINGLES
Second round: Hariyanto Arbi (Ina) bt Fumihiko Machida (Jpn) 15-8,
15-11; Jeroen van Dijk (Hol) bt Akihiro Kishida (Jpn) 15-4, 18-14;
Ding Jyh-cherng (Tpe) bt Yong Hock Kin (Mas) 10-15, 17-16, 15-12;
Peter Rasmussen (Den) bt Darren Hall (Eng) 15-7, 15-2; Alan Budi
Kusuma (Ina) w.o. Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen (Den); Ong Ewe Hock (Mas) bt
Craig Booley (Aus) 18-15, 15-10; Lo Ah Heng (Mas) bt Tam Kai-chuen
(Hkg) 15-12, 15-10; Hu Zhilan (Chn) bt Jim Laugesen (Den) 15-5, 11-15,
15-6;
Lee Kwang-Jin (Kor) bt Etienne Thobois (Fra) 15-6, 15-0; Soren B.
Nielsen (Den) bt Ismail Samad (Mas) 15-9, 8-15, 15-10; Pang Chen (Mas)
bt Sun Jun (Chn) 15-12, 8-15, 17-14; Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen (Den) bt
Peter Knowles (Eng) 15-11, 15-9; Martin Lundgaard (Den) bt Jens Olsson
(Swe) 15-13, 15-7; Tan Sian Peng (Sin) bt Murray Hocking (Aus) 15-9,
6-15, 15-7; Rashid Sidek (Mas) bt Joris van Soerland (Hol) 15-8, 15-7;
Joko Suprianto (Ina) bt Iain Sydie (Can) 15-7, 15-5.
MEN'S DOUBLES
Second round: Ricky Subagja-Rexy Mainaky (Ina) bt Kai
Mitteldorf-Michael Keck (Ger) 15-6, 15-9; Henrik Svarrer-Michael
Soegaard (Den) bt Horng Shin-jeng-Huang Chuan-chen (Tpe) 15-12, 15-4;
Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock (Mas) w.o. Kevin Han-Thomas Reidy (US);
Peter Blackburn-Paul Staight (Aus) bt Norio Imai-Takaaki Hayashi (Jpn)
15-9, 7-15, 15-12; Jiang Xin-Huang Zhanzhong (Chn) bt Kim
Dong-moon-Hwang Sun-ho (Kor) 15-1, 15-10;
Rosman Razak-Chew Chun Eng (Mas) bt Chow Kin Man-Ma Che Kong (Hkg)
15-6, 15-8; Antonius Irianto-Deny Kantono (Ina) bt Enrico La
Rosa-Gianmarco La Rosa (Ita) 15-3, 15-4; Chris Hunt-Simon Archer (Eng)
bt Jens Eriksen-Christian Jakobsen (Den) 15-9, 15-7; Akihiro
Imai-Kazuhiro Honda (Jpn) bt Wang Chia-cherng-Chiang Hong-li (Tpe)
15-3, 15-9; Tony Gunawan-Rudy Wijaya (Ina) bt Fumihiko Machida-Shinji
Bito (Jpn) 15-12, 15-4;
Tim He-Chan Siu-kwong (Hkg) bt Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah (Mas)
15-10, 15-8; Thomas Lund-Jon Holst-Christensen (Den) bt Takuya
Katayama-Yuzo Kubota (Jpn) 15-3, 15-4; Lee Dong-soo-Ha Tae-kwan (Kor)
bt Yap Yee Guan-Yap Yee Hup (Mas) 15-7, 15-4; Par-Gunnar Jonsson-Peter
Axelsson (Swe) bt Liao Kuo-mao-Lin Liang-chun (Tpe) 15-3, 15-6; Ge
Cheng-Tao Xiaoqiang (Chn) bt Hideyuki Munesue-Hideka Fujiwara (Jpn)
15-10, 15-10; Gunawan-Bambang Suprianto (Ina) bt Thomas Stavngaard-Jim
Laugesen (Den) 15-11, 15-9.