Date:14/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/14/stories/2005051401231900.htm

Sport - Badminton

England downs Hong Kong

BEIJING: England beat Hong Kong 3-1 on Friday to take fifth place in the Sudirman Cup world mixed team badminton championships, while Singapore overwhelmed the Netherlands 3-0 for the 11th place.

The tournament's top four teams took a rest day ahead of Saturday's semifinals. Four-time champion China will face title-holder South Korea, while Denmark meets Indonesia to determine the finalists in this ninth edition of the world championships.

Women's World No. 1 Gail Emms paired with Robert Blair to get England off to an easy start against Hong Kong, defeating Ng Wei and Li Wing Mui 15-0, 15-3 at the Capital Gymnasium.

Agus Heriyanto evened it up by downing England No. 1 Aamir Ghaffar 13-15, 15-5, 17-14 in the men's singles.

Commonwealth Games runner-up Tracey Hallam defeated Yip Pui Yin 11-6, 11-8 to make it 2-1 for England, while Blair came back to partner Anthony Clark in the men's doubles and beat Liu Kwok Wa and Albertus Susanto Njoto 15-6, 15-11 and seal the victory.

``Fifth place is a great result for us. It's what we were hoping for before the championships,'' said England team manager Yvette Yun Luo.

Singapore wins

Singapore's mixed doubles pair of Hendri Kurniawan Saputra and Jiang Yanmei gave the team a solid start over the Dutch with a 15-9, 15-5 win over Jurgen Wouters and Mia Audina.

Germany took 13th place, finding its form belatedly in the competition to beat Taiwan 3-0. — AP