ASIAN JUNIORS: CHINA BEATS INDONESIA TWICE FOR TEAM TITLES

** This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG BADMINTON PRODUCTS and their USA agents, CHIN SPORTS (chinsports@aol.com or 212-645-4142).**

April 9, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - China defeated Indonesia in both of the team championship meetings staged today at the Asian Junior badminton championships in Manila, Philippines.

China's under-19 female team routed the Indonesian girls 5 matches to none in the best-of-five affair. World junior female singles champion Yu Hua started off by clobbering Melissa Dewi in the first singles 11-1 and 11-2.

In the second singles, Gong Ruina very quickly went one game up, beating Hani Setiani 11-0. The Indonesian fought back in the second as Gong eased up on her play. Setiani took the second 11-5.

In the decider, Gong exerted herself and finished Setiani 11-6.

Zhou Mi then demolished Rosalina Atu 11-4 and 11-2 to clinch the title for the Chinese girls' team.

In the meaningless doubles matches that followed, the pair of Yang Wei and Gao Ling beat Vita Marissa and Enni Widowati 15-2 and 15-4, and the tandem of Pi Hong Yang and Zhou Mi defeated Yenni Adrianni and Rossi Rianni 15-8 and 15-4.

The ensuing male team finals was not as one-sided as the girls' team championship meeting, with the title only being decided in the last of the five matches.

Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat put his team on the scoreboard first when he beat China's number one junior singles player, Xia Xuanze 15-12 and 15-11.

It seemed like Indonesia would go ahead 2-0 when world junior silver medalist Rudy Ignatius took an easy first game off Chen Hong 15-7. However, Chen managed to fight back and win the next two games 15-10 and 15-8, putting China into a tie with Indonesia.

Cheng Rui then put China ahead 2-1 with his three-game victory over Swamped Hartawan 15-5, 13-18 and 15-2.

In the first doubles, Mohammed Noor Misuri and Luluk Hadianto beat Xia Xuanze and Chen Hong 15-4 and 15-10 to put the Indonesians on equal footing with the Chinese.

Then in the crucial second doubles, Cheng Rui and Jiang Shan of China easily took the first game from Denni and Chandra at 15-7. The Indonesians put up a better effort in the second with the title on the line and played the Chinese to a tiebreak at 14-all. However, Cheng and Rui were the better pair in the overtime and won the game, the match and the championship at 18-14.

Individual competition will start tomorrow (THursday, April 10).

(jcfontanilla/migrossman)