Sports / Other Sports |
Sudirman Cup final order of play arouses controversies(Xinhua)Updated: 2007-06-18 07:53 The play order of the badminton Sudirman Cup final on Sunday remained unchanged despite a proposal of having men's singles played earlier. Official at the tournament were trying to put the most eye-catching men's singles in first three rubbers, which was down at bottom of the five sets as was decided by draw the previous night, due to worries that it won't be played at all if hot favorites China beat Indonesia 3-0 or 3-1. Officials from the world governing body BWF phoned the Chinese team hours before the kickoff of the final on Sunday but China refused to accept any change, according to a Chinese coach. Sudirman Cup media officer William Kings told Xinhua that some broadcasters were eager to have pictures of the anticipated clash between Chinese world number one Lin Dan and his archrival Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat. "They went crazy when they're aware that there might not be a men's singles at all," he said, "Everyone wants to see that. It's a real exciting part of the tournament." Indonesia are making their seventh appearance in the final although they only won the tournament once in the 1989 inaugural edition. Five-time winners China, chasing their sixth Sudirman trophy in Glasgow, beat Indonesia in the 2005 final in Beijing.
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