Koreans race into semi-final

Badminton

England found the strength of South Korea far too much and were overwhelmed 5-0 in the Uber Cup women's world team championship in Hong Kong yesterday.

The Koreans raced into the semi-finals even though they rested their All-England champion Bang Soo-hyun. Ra Kyung-min took over the No 1 singles spot and set the tone for the tie with an 11-2, 11-1 win over Julia Mann in just six minutes, one of the quickest matches on record.

The defending champions, Indonesia, powered into the semi-final by trouncing Russia 5-0 and now meet the Koreans.

The other semi-final will be between China, chasing a record sixth title, and Denmark, who reached the last four for the first time since 1984 with a 5-0 win over Hong Kong.

China won their third match in group A by beating Japan 5-0, and their coach Li Yongbo is confident his players will secure a place in the final.

The Olympic champion, Susi Susanti, opened Indonesia's account with an 11-2, 11-5 win over Marina Yakusheva, and the 16-year-old Mia Audina, who clinched the Uber Cup for Indonesia two years ago with a win over China's Zhang Ning, made it 2-0 with an 11-7, 11-0 win over Elena Suchareva.

The tie was clinched by Yuliani Sentoso, who took just 11 minutes to beat Ella Karach-kova 11-1, 11-1.

Results, Sporting Digest, page 23