England to win title at C'ship after 23 years

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 09/24/2006 9:16 AM

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Madrid

England has secured a mixed doubles title at the World Badminton Championships to go to the final Sunday which will be dominated by Chinese players in the men's singles and women's singles. China already secured the women's doubles title.

Anthony Clark/Donna Kellogg of England dashed Malaysia's hopes of securing a final slot at the championships after defeating Koo Kien Keat/Wong Pei Tty 21-14, 12-12.

The world No. 8 English pair dominated most of the game by winning their nets and rallies while the Malaysians committed too many unforced errors in the rally point system that gave the advantage to their opponents.

""It's great. We were good in our attacks and defense,"" Kellogg said. ""I tried to keep away from the Malaysian man because he took control most of the game. The Asians like to drive a lot.""

Committing 16 unforced errors, compared to seven by the English, Koo said, ""We didn't play well today. The English pair could read our strategy. All my attacks were anticipated by them. We just didn't play our game.""

Reaching the final of the world championships is the best achievement for Kellogg/Clark so far.

""It never happened when we used the old scoring system. Obviously, I like the new one because I can reach the final here,"" Kellogg said happily.

Compatriots Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms will be their opponents in the final after they beat Sudket Prapakamol/Saralee Thoungthongkam of Thailand 21-18, 17-21, 25-23 in a one-hour match.

""It would have been bloody disappointing if we couldn't set an all-English final tomorrow,"" Robertson said. ""It's fantastic...""

It will be the second title for England after Nora Perry in 1983, who teamed up with Thomas Kihlstrom of Sweden. Perry had earlier won the women's doubles title with Jane Webster in 1980.

South Korean Lee Hyun-il let his chance to spoil an all-Chinese men's singles final at the World Badminton Championships slip through his fingers when he lost to Bao Chunlai 21-15, 21-19 in 40 minutes Saturday.

Although he dominated most of the match with his smashes, Lee committed more unforced errors and failed to win the net duel.

""Generally, I played a good match although I was under pressure because there were three Chinese players in the semifinals,"" said Lee, who has been in a title drought after his 2005 Taipei Open title. ""But today, Bao's defense was solid and he was in a better condition.""

Lee, who reached the quarterfinals at last year's championships in Anaheim, California, acknowledged that he was upset with the linesmen's calls that cost him three points in the second game. ""I was upset with the poor calls"".

Bao agreed, saying: ""Lee still managed to control himself with the first two calls but when the third happened, he was upset and I think that affected his performance.""

Fifth seeded Bao, who won the Korea Open just three weeks ago, however, admitted that he was very nervous in the second game when both shuttlers tied 19-19. ""I made a lot of mistakes too but I also won a lot. It was a dramatic game"".

Second seeded Lin Dan will meet fellow Chinese Chen Hong in another semifinal match.

Elsewhere, the International Badminton Federation announced its plan to hold 12 Super Series tournaments starting next year with prize money of at least US$200,000. In December, there will be the Super Series Masters Final with a minimum prize money of $500,000.

Speaking on the improvement in the umpires and the use of technology to minimize poor line calls, IBF Chair Events Committee Paisan Rangsikitpho said that IBF had been seriously discussing the issue.

""We're looking to improve... It's costly, so we're watching tennis right now and see how they're doing.

Poor calls have become an issue especially with Indonesian Taufik Hidayat leaving the court at the recent Hong Kong Open.

Results: Men's singles semifinals: Bao Chunlai (Chn) v Lee Hyun-il (Kor) 21-15, 21-19 Chen Hong (Chn) v Lin Dan (Chn)

Women's singles semifinals: Zhang Ning (Chn) bt Petra Overzier (Ger) 21-19, 21-11 Xie Xingfang (Chn) v Xu Haiwen (Ger)

Men's doubles semifinals: Anthony Clark/Robert Blair (Eng) v Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen (Den) Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun (Chn) bt Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen (Den) 23-21, 21-16

Mixed doubles semifinals: Anthony Clark/Donna Kellogg (Eng) bt Koo Kien Keat/Wong Pei Tty (Mal) 21-14, 21-12 Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms (Eng) v Sudket Prapakamol/Saralee Thoungthongkam (Tha) 21-18, 17-21, 25-23

Women's doubles final: Gao Ling/Huang Sui (Chn) v Zhang Yawen/Wei Yili (Chn)

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