FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 18, 1996

U.S. MEN, WOMEN FALL IN DAY TWO OF PRELIMINARIES AT 
THOMAS AND UBER CUP WORLD TEAM BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
  
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.)  -- The tide turned on the U.S. Sunday,
as both the men's Thomas Cup and women's Uber Cup teams fell to
the top seeds in their respective pools at the 1996 Thomas and
Uber Cup World Team Badminton Championships (Prague, Czech
Republic, February 17-24).  Germany blasted the U.S. men 5-0, and
the women were likewise shutout by a tough Ukraine team 5-0.  The
U.S. men (1-1) will meet Slovenia in their final preliminary
round match, while the U.S. women (1-1) will take on Nepal.      

The Thomas and Uber Cups are the world team badminton
championships for men and women, respectively, held every even
year.  Prague is the European Venue for the Thomas and Uber Cup
Preliminaries, while Auckland, New Zealand is the site of the
Asian Preliminaries (Feb. 18-25).    

The event is a team competition format, where each country plays
a best-of-five matches; three singles and two doubles against the
three other teams in their respective qualifying pools.  The
winner of each qualifying pool will advance to the semifinal
stage, and the three semifinal winners from the European venue
will then meet the three semifinal winners from the Asian Venue
at the 1996 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals (Hong Kong, May 17-26). 
The U.S. men's Thomas Cup pool consists of Germany, Malta, and
Slovenia, while the U.S. women's Uber Cup pool consists of
Ukraine, Mauritius, and Nepal.  

The competition is also an Olympic Qualifying Event, with results
affecting athletes' world player rankings.  The International
Badminton Federation (IBF) will announce the 192 person Olympic
badminton field (36 men's singles players, 36 women's singles
players, 20 men's doubles pairs, 20 women's doubles pairs, and 20
mixed doubles pairs) no later than April 15, 1996.

Sunday's Results - 1996 Men's Thomas Cup Preliminaries
(Qualifying Pool)

Group A
Spain def. South Africa 3-2

Group B
Switzerland def. Israel 5-0

Group C
Poland def. France 4-1
Estonia def. Brazil 4-1

Group D
Germany def. U.S. 5-0
Slovenia def. Malta 5-0

Group E
Belarus def. Ukraine 3-2
Czech Republic def. Cyprus 5-0 

Group F
Norway def. Mauritius 5-0

Group G
Bulgaria def. Kazakhstan 5-0

Group H
Portugal def. Wales 3-2
India def. Slovakia 5-0

Group I
Austria def. Guatemala 4-1
Ireland def. Hungary 4-1

Group J
Scotland def. Lithuania 5-0
Belgium def. Armenia 5-0
 

Sunday's Results - 1996 Women's Uber Cup Preliminaries
(Qualifying Pool)

Group A
Kazakhstan def. Estonia 5-0 
Switzerland def. Peru 5-0

Group B
India def. Poland 4-1
Italy def. Israel 3-2
Poland def. Israel 5-0
India def. South Africa 4-1

Group C
Ukraine def. United States 5-0

Group D
Iceland def. Czech Republic 4-1
Scotland def. Lithuania 5-0

Group E
Belgium def. Slovakia 4-1
Bulgaria def. Cyprus 5-0

Group F
Finland def. Portugal 3-2

Group G
Wales def. Slovenia 3-2
Austria def. Spain 3-2

(FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL PAWLACZYK, USBA
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, AT 719-578-4808).