WORLD CUP: FAVOURITES POST FIRST DAY WINS

**This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG BADMINTON PRODUCTS and their Southern U.S.A. agents, SPORTSNET INTERNATIONAL (Email: jumpsmash@aol.com/ Tel:713-771-8905/Fax:713-771-4446)**

August 20, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - The seeded players who saw action today at the badminton World Cup in Yogjakarta, Indonesia all notched victories in their opening matches in the group round-robin phase.

Men's singles top seed Dong Jiong of China defeated Jeroen van Dijk of the Netherlands 15-8 and 15-9 in Group A. Group B favourite Joko Suprianto of Indonesia had an easy 15-5 and 15-3 win over Thomas Johansson of Sweden, despite having a bad case of flu.

In Group C, China's Sun Jun easily defeated Tam Kai Chuen of Hong Kong 15-2 and 15-6, while tournament second-seed Heryanto Arbi managed to recover his composure and control to post a three-game victory over Darren Hall of England 15-2, 11-15 and 15-2 in a Group D matchup.

In a minor upset in men's singles Group B, non-seed Pullela Gopichand of India beat the higher-ranked Chinese player Luo Yigang 13-15, 15-6 and 15-11.

Women's singles top seed Ye Zhaoying took her Group A opener against Takako Ida of Japan 11-3 and 11-1. Group B seed Mia Audina of Indonesia kept pace with Ye with her 11-3 and 11-1 victory over Marina Andrievskaya of Sweden.

In women's singles Group C, Gong Zhichao of China beat Pornsawan Plungwech of Thailand 11-7 and 11-2, while Group D favourite Susi Susanti defeated the up-and-coming Dutch player Judith Meulendijks 11-3 and 11-5.

Results of the other matches today:

Men's Singles
Group A - Indra Wijaya (Indonesia) beat Martin Lundgaard-Hansen (Denmark) 15-3 and 15-10
Group C - Ardy Wiranata (Indonesia) beat Soren B. Nielsen (Denmark) 15-12 and 15-2
Group D - Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia) beat Hwang Sun Ho (Korea) 15-11 and 15-3

Men's Doubles
Group A - Chandra Wijaya/Budiarto Sigit (Indonesia) beat Ge Cheng/Tao Xiaoqiang (China) 15-6 and 15-7; Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah (Malaysia) beat Peter Axelsson/Par-Gunnar Jonsson (Sweden) 15-11 and 15-13
Group B - Lee Dong Soo/Yoo Yung Sung (Korea) beat Andrej Antropov/Nikolaj Zuev (Russia) 15-10, 15-4; Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky (Indonesia) beat Chris Hunt/Simon Archer (England) 15-7, 15-6

Women's Doubles
Group A - Ge Fei/Gu Jun (China) beat Nicola Beck/Joanne Davies (England) 15-5 and 15-2
Group B - Tang Yongshu/Qin Yiyuan (China) beat Chen Li Chin/Tsai Huey Min (Taipei) 15-4 and 15-9

Mixed Doubles
Group A - Liu Yong/Ge Fei (China) beat Peter Axelsson/Catrine Bengtsson (Sweden) 15-10 and 15-6
Group B - Trikus Heryanto/Minarti Timur (Indonesia) beat Limpele Flandy/ Rosalina Riseu (Indonesia) 15-3 and 15-9

(jpcf/mig)