Gopi Chand seeded sixth for World championships

LONDON, MAY 25. P. Gopi Chand, riding a new wave following his All England triumph, has been seeded sixth in the men's singles event of the World badminton championships beginning in Seville, Spain, on June 3.

The seedings have gone exactly as per the world rankings for the week, issued on Thursday, and to give a big boost to Malaysia, Roslim Hashim has displaced Dane Peter Gade Christensen at the top and is seeded No. 1 at the World meet.

Gade follows Hashim, with Indonesian Taufik Hidayat at No. 3 and Chinese Chen Hong, runner-up to Gopi Chand at All England, at the fourth spot. Korean Lee Hyun Il is the fifth seed. Gopi could well have improved upon his ranking and seeding had he participated in tournaments after his All England win, but after a hectic felicitation schedule, he preferred to train at home rather than play abroad.

In the women's section, reigning world champion Camilla Martin is the top seed. But the Dane will have to battle it out with the Chinese if she is to retain the crown. Zhou Mi, who has beaten Camilla the last two occasions they met, is the second seed, followed by compatriot Gong Ruina. Olympic and All England champion Gong Zhichao is the fifth seed.

Hashim, who will be skipping the Sudirman Cup mixed team competition beginning in Seville on May 28, has overtaken Peter Gade following the removal of the ranking points from last year's Thomas Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur. With the Swiss and Japan Open titles in his bag in recent weeks, Hashim will be looking forward to another triumph, his first, at the world level.

Denmark takes the top seedings in both the men's doubles and mixed doubles while the Chinese occupy the No. 1 position in the women's doubles.

The Indonesians - Flandi Limpele and Eng Hian - prevented a top- four seeding sweep by the Danes in the men's doubles by getting into the third slot. Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen are the top seeds in the men's doubles followed by another Danish pair, Michael Sogaard and Jim Laugesen. Martin Lundgaard Hansen and Lars Paaske are at fourth.

Although seeded only eighth, Indonesians Chandra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto will be looking forward to their second world title to add to the one in Glasgow in 1997. Halim Haryanto and Tony Gunawan, the fifth-seeded Indonesians, should also be strong contenders. Indonesia had gone back empty-handed from the 1999 World championships.

Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen, the top seeds in the mixed doubles, should be looking ahead for a successful finale to what could well be the last international outing for the former.

Chinese Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei are the women's doubles top seeds, followed by three Danish pairs.

Meanwhile, as per the schedule released for the Sudirman Cup matches, India will take on Wales on the opening day on May 28 and then runs into Austria the next day. The Indian team, without its top woman player, Aparna Popat this time, will round off its group 3B engagements with a match against Hong Hong, its toughest rival in the group, on May 30. Classification matches will be held on May 31 while the group 1 semifinals will come off on June 1 with the final scheduled for June 2.

The seedings:

Men's singles: 1. Roslin Hashim (Mas), 2. Peter Gade Christensen (Den), 3. Taufik Hidayat (Ina), 4, Chen Hong (Chn), 5. Lee Hyun Il (Kor), 6. P. Gopi Chand (Ind), 7. Marleve Mainaky (Ina), 8. Anders Boesen (Den), 9. Xia Xuanze (Chn), 10. Richard Vaughan (Wal), 11. Ji Xinpeng (Chn), 12. Ong Ewe Hock (Mas), 13. Kenneth Jonassen (Den), 14. Hendrawan (Ina), 15. Shon Seung Mo (Kor) and 16. George Rimarcdi (Swe).

Women's singles: 1. Camilla Martin (Den), 2. Zhou Mi (Chn), 3. Gong Ruina (Chn), 4. Marina Andrievskaya (Swe), 5. Gong Zhichao (Chn), 6. Julia Mann (Eng), 7. Mia Audina Tjiptawan (Ned), 8. Zhang Ning (Cn), 9. Kelly Morgan (Wal), 10. Judith Meulendijks (Ned), 11. Chen Wang (Hkg), 12. Kanako Yonekura (Jpn), 13. Wan Ting Ling (Hkg), 14. Dai Yun (Chn), 15. Mette Sorensen (Den) and 16. Kaori Mori (Jpn).

Men's doubles: 1. Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen (Den), 2. Michael Sogaard/Jim Laugesen (Den), 3. Flandi Limpele/Eng Hian (Ina), 4. Martin Lundgaard Hansen/Lars Paaske (Den), 5. Tony Gunawan/Halim Haryanto (Ina), 6. Chew Choon Eng/Chan Chong Ming (Mas), 7. Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah (Mas) and 8. Chandra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto (Ina).

Women's doubles: 1. Huang Nanyan/Yang Wei (Chn), 2. Helene Kirkegaard/Rikke Olsen (Den), 3. Mette Schjoldager/Ann-Lou Jorgensen (Den), 4. Majken Vange/Pernille Harder (Den), 5. Gao Ling/Huang Sui (Chn), 6. Ra Kyung Mi/Lee Kyung Won (Kor), 7. Hwang Yu Mi/Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) and 8. Zhang Jiewen/Wei Yili (Chn).

Mixed doubles: 1. Michael Sogaard/Rikke Olsen (Den), 2. Jens Eriksen/Mete Schjoldager (Den), 3. Zhang Jun/Gao Ling (Chn), 4. Bambang Surpianto/Minarti Timur (Ina), 5. Nova Widianto/Maris Vita (Ina), 6. Liu Yong/Cheng Jiao (Chn), 7. Graham Hurrell/Sarah Hardaker (Eng) and 8. Bjoern Siegmund/Nicol Pitro (Ger).

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