FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 16, 1996 INDONESIA FALLS HARD, HOYER HITS A HIGH AT THE 1996 ALL-ENGLAND BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS (COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) -- Indonesian superstars dropped like flies, opening the door for Denmark's Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen to win his second consecutive men's singles title at the prestigious All-England Badminton Championships (March 11-16, Birmingham, ENG). In men's singles, things got off track early for the Indonesian's, as top seed Joko Suprianto had and early exit, losing to unseeded Lee Liwen (CHN) in the second round. Other Indonesian losers included the likes of 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist Allan B. Kusuma in the third round, and reigning World Champion Heryanto Arbi in the quarterfinal. Hoyer Larsen took full advantage of the Indonesian misfortune, dominating Malaysian Rashid Sidek 15-7, 15-6 to take the men's singles title. "I think the big occasion brings out the best in me," said the Dane after his victory in front of 5,000 plus fans. "I think I'll be difficult to beat in Atlanta if I meet the same people I've been playing here." Hoyer Larsen is ranked fourth in the world in men's singles (as of February 2, 1996). Defeat befell the Indonesians in women's singles as well, as 1992 Olympic Gold medalist Susanti fell to Korea's Bang Soo Hyun in the semifinals. With renewed confidence, the 1992 silver medalist went on to embarrass top ranked Ye Zhaoying (CHN) 11-1, 11-1 to clinch the championship. "Over the years my matches with Ye have been about 50-50," said Bang. "I think today was different because I played with confidence after beating Susanti last night." In doubles action, top seeded Indonesians Rexy Mainaky and Ricky Subagja rolled to the title, blasting rivals Chea Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock of Malaysia 15-6, 15-5. In women's doubles top ranked Ge Fei and Gu Jun had no problems, defeating Danes Helene Kirkegaard and Rikke Olsen in the final 15-7, 15-3. In mixed doubles, hometown favorites Simon Archer and Julie Bradbury fought hard, but Korea's duo of Park Joo-Bong and Ra Kyung-Min proved too strong, winning 15-10, 15-10. It was once again bad news for the U.S. in Birmingham, as no players advanced past the first round of the competition. The final qualifying stop of the year for the U.S. will be the Polish Open (Spala, March 28-31). The one year international qualifying process for the Olympic Games will conclude March 31, 1996, and the list of eligible players will be published by the IBF and notified to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and IBF member nations no later than April 15, 1996. Along with this list, a list of eligible reserves in the order of the official computer ranking will be published for each event. Founded in 1899, the All-England Championships were the unofficial World Championships for badminton until 1977, when the IBF instituted the official World Badminton Championships. Final Results - 1996 All-England Badminton Championships (prefix denotes seeding) Men's Singles 2-Poul Erik Hoyer Larsen (DEN) def. 8-Rashid Sidek (MAS) 15-7, 15-6 Women's Singles 3/4-Bang Soo Hyun (KOR) def. 1-Ye Zhaoying (China) 11-1, 11-1 Men's Doubles 1-Rexy Mainaky/Ricky Subagja def. 2-Chea Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock (MAS) 15-6, 15-5 Women's Doubles 1-Ge Fei/Gu Jun (CHN) def. 3/4-Helene Kirkegaard/Rikke Olsen (DEN) 15-7, 15-3 Mixed Doubles 3/4-Park Joo Bong/Ra Kyung-Min (KOR) def. Simon Archer/Julie Bradbury (ENG) 15-10, 15-10 U.S. Results QUALIFYING ROUND Women's Singles Taliana Gerassinovitch (BLR) def. Gina Gomez (Millbrae, Calif.) 11-3, 11-3 Kathy Zimmerman (Denver, Colo.) def. Heather Poole (CAN) in walkover Tuksuko Hori (JPN) def. Zimmerman 11-6, 11-8 Women's Doubles Zimmerman and Stephanie Westermann (Berlin, GER) def. Chen Hsian- Li and Kuang Chin-Chi (TPE) in walkover Heather Poole and Charmaine Reid (CAN) def. Westermann and Zimmerman 15-0, 15-6 MAIN DRAW Men's Doubles Kang Kyung Jin and Kim Dong Moon (KOR) def. Mike Edstrom (Denver, Colo.) and Chris Hales (Wooster, Ohio) 15-2, 15-3 Women's Doubles Tomomi Matsuo and Masako Sakamoto (JPN) def. Linda French (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Erika Von Heiland (Anaheim, Calif.) 15-2, 15-3 ### (FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL PAWLACZYK, USBA COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, AT 719-578-4808, OR VIA E-MAIL AT USBA1996@aol.com).