BADMINTON : Bradbury and Wright recover

Joanne Wright and Julie Bradbury, England's best hopes of an Olympic medal in Atlanta next year, produced a startling recovery to reach the semi-finals of the Yonex All-England championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham yesterday.

Wright and Bradbury, who have reached No 3 in the world rankings after only six months of playing women's doubles, trailed 6-12 in the final game against Lotte Olsen and Ann Jorgensen, a pair who beat them two months ago, and came back to win a startling match 15-0, 7-1, 5-12.

English chances looked to be disappearing when Olsen and Jorgensen took nine points in a row to take a six-point lead, but an improbable net shot from Wright, which rolled down the Danish side, earned the service back. This helped set up a six-point run on Bradbury's serve included a remarkable retrieve from near the foot of the net by Bradbury that crept over at the tightest of angles and created a winner for Wright.

That got English adrenalin pumping, and although the Danes twice won serve back at 12-all it was Wright's perceptive interceptions and Bradbury's mobility and smashing that secured a thrilling victory.

Earlier, Mia Audina Tjiptawan became, at 15, the youngest All-England semi-finalist in history after saving two match points in the second game against China's Wang Chen to win 10-12, 12-11, 12-11 in a 72-minute contest.

A surprise later saw the second-seeded World Grand Prix title holder, Ardy Wiranata, beaten by his fellow Indonesian Hermawan Susanto in the quarter-finals. Wiranata appeared to be suffering with a calf injury and Susanto went on to win 15-12, 15-7.

Results, Sporting Digest, page 47