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Day Two Tests the Seeds
September 20, 2001 - Source : IBF
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The heat has been turned up at the 5* Youngor Super China Grand Prix in Ningbo. With two rounds played the numbers are dwindling and it’s not just the seeds who are calling the shots.
From the first round of the men’s singles the seeds felt the strain with seven bowing out, four of them to qualifiers. Malaysia’s Ong Ewe Hock and was ousted by an unheralded qualifier Wu Yunyong in four games. Despite taking the first, Ong put up little resistance and was dismissed 7/2 3/7 2/7 1/7. Boonsak Polsana suffered a similar fate when qualifier Luo Yigang handed out a three-game thrashing to the Thai player. Polsana amassed a grand total of 5 points before succumbing 7/3 7/2 7/0.
World Champion Hendrawan too felt the strain during his first-round clash with Singapore’s promising player Ronald Susilo in a match which saw the lead change with every game. Hendrawan clearly has not returned to his championship winning form after the injury which saw him pull out of the individual competition of the recent SEA Games. Susilo took the match 7/3 7/8 7/2 0/7 7/3.
Top seed Xia Xuanze is still on track despite a spirited performance from his second round opponent Anders Boesen of Denmark. Xia was stretched to five games by the Dane but by the fifth Boesen had nothing left to offer. The match ended 8/6 3/7 6/8 7/2 7/0.
In the women’s singles the build up to a Chinese whitewash has begun. After two rounds only there are no non-Chinese players left in contention, with top seed Zhou Mi still on track for a World Championship final re-match against second seed Gong Ruina.
The men’s doubles is shaping up to be a more representative affair with six countries in the running to take the title. Top seeds Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto hardly broke into a sweat during their match against Cheng Rui/Wang Wei of China easing into the quarter finals 7/2 7/2 7/1. They now take on Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen of Denmark.
Eriksen and Larsen’s compatriots Martin Lundgaard Hansen/Lars Paaske were the only seeded pair to drop out of the men’s doubles event when they failed to get the better of Malaysia’s Chang Kim Wia/ Hong Chien Hun. Despite having to battle their way through the qualifying the Malaysian pair clearly had plenty left in the tank, as they emerged victorious from a five-game battle with the Danes. The final score; 4/7 8/6 3/7 7/5 4/7.
Ra Kyung Min and partner Hwang Yu Mi provide the only fly in the ointment for the Chinese in their domination of the women’s doubles event. Their easy win over Liu Zhen/Xiao Luxi of Singapore (7/1 7/4 7/0) granted them a place in the quarter finals and a match with the world’s top pairing of Gao Ling/Huang Sui.
It was Gao and Huang who stopped one of the more unusual pairings in their bid for glory. Singles stars Gong Zhichao/Zhou Mi put up a spirited performance against their compatriots but eventually conceded defeat 7/4 7/3 7/5. However the other pairing of singles stars, Zhang Ning/Gong Ruina fared better, defeating Denmark’s Rikke Olsen/Mette Schjoldager in three games to assure themselves of a quarter final slot.
Both Olsen and Schjoldager will take some consolation from the fact that their regular partnerships in the mixed doubles proved more fruitful. Olsen with partner Michael Sogaard and Schjoldager and Jens Eriksen have made it through to the semi-finals. Sogaard/Olsen had an easy first-round win over China’s Zheng Bo/Zhang Yawen 7/1 7/4 7/4 but were made to work for their semi final spot by England’s glamour pairing of Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms. A lapse of concentration from the Danes saw them lose the second game but were soon back on form to take the match 7/5 1/7 7/5 7/0.
Sogaard/Olsen must now face top seeds Zhang Jun/Gao Ling while Eriksen/Schjoldager line up for a clash with number 8 seeds Liu Yong/Chen Lin.
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» Xia, Martin have top billing at 2002 Malaysia Open
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