badminton

/bad"min tn/, n.

a game played on a rectangular court by two players or two pairs of players equipped with light rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a high net that divides the court in half. See illus. under racket.

[1835-45; named after Badminton, the country seat of the duke of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England]

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Court or lawn game played with light long-handled rackets and a shuttlecock volleyed over a net.

The game is named after the residence of Britain's duke of Beaufort, where it supposedly originated с 1873. Officially sanctioned badminton matches are played indoors to protect the shuttlecock from winds. Play consists entirely of hitting the shuttlecock back and forth without letting it touch the floor or ground. The best-known match is the All-England Championships. Badminton became a full-medal sport at the 1992 Olympics. The world governing body is the International Federation of Badminton in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng.

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▪ 2006

       Chinese players dominated the 2005 All England badminton championships, held in Birmingham in March. In the men's singles final, Chen Hong defeated the top seed, defending champion Lin Dan. The women's events also featured all-Chinese finals as Xie Xingfang bested Zhang Ning in the singles competition and Gao Ling and Huang Sui triumphed over Zhao Tingting and Wei Yili in the doubles event. The Chinese team of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng defeated Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark for the men's doubles title. England's Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms delighted the home crowd by winning the mixed doubles.

 The Sudirman Cup, an international mixed-team event, was contested in Beijing in May. After having lost to South Korea in the 2003 final, China gained revenge in the 2005 competition with an easy semifinal victory over its rival. Indonesia surprisingly dominated Denmark in the other semifinal, but the Indonesians were no match in the final round against an incredibly strong Chinese team. With the win, China, which in 2004 captured the Thomas and Uber Cups, became the first nation to hold all three international team titles at the same time.

      The world championships, which were staged in August in Anaheim, Calif., produced both expected and unexpected results. The women's events had all-Chinese finals; Xie again defeated Zhang for the singles title, and Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen overcame Gao and Huang in the doubles competition. Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia beat Lin to become the first men's singles player to capture the world championship after having won Olympic gold the previous year. The men's doubles team of Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach also made history when they secured the first world championship gold medal for the U.S. Gunawan (who formerly played for Indonesia) and Bach scored three stunning upsets, including a final-round win over the Indonesian team of Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya. Indonesia won gold in the mixed doubles for the first time in 25 years. Competitors from Taiwan, Germany, New Zealand, and Thailand won bronze medals for their respective countries.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 2005

       Chinese badminton players won the singles titles at the All England Championships, played in Birmingham in March 2004. Gong Ruina justified her number one world ranking with an easy final-round victory over compatriot Zhou Mi. In the men's singles Lin Dan proved why he held the sport's top ranking by defeating Denmark's Peter Gade in a closely contested final. Denmark was more successful, however, in the men's doubles championship, with Jens Erikson and Martin Lundgaard Hansen coming from behind to defeat Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah of Malaysia.

      The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup, team events for men and women, respectively, were held in Jakarta, Indon., in May. In the Uber Cup, China won its fourth consecutive title with a final-round win over South Korea. After a 10-year domination of the Thomas Cup by Indonesian teams, Chinese men won their first title since 1990 by defeating Denmark in the final.

      At the Olympic Games in Athens, most of the top men's singles seeds lost in the early rounds. This created an opportunity for the unseeded Indonesian Taufik Hidayat, who won the gold medal with a final-round victory over South Korea's Shon Seung Mo. The men's doubles competition featured an all-South Korean gold-medal match as Kim Dong Moon and Ha Tae Kwon defeated teammates Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yong Sung. After the early defeat of Denmark's Camilla Martin, China was hoping to win all three medals in the women's singles competition. Top-seeded Gong Ruina, however, lost her semifinal match to the Indonesian-born Dutch player Mia Audina. In the final Zhang Ning narrowly defeated Audina to claim the gold medal. The dominant mixed doubles team of the previous two years, Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyung Min of South Korea, were also victims of an unexpected early loss. China's mixed doubles team of Zhang Jun and Gao Ling took advantage of the opening and defended the title that they had won at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In the women's doubles competition, the world's best teams, both from China, met in the final, with Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen defeating Gao Ling and Huang Sui.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 2004

      At the All England Badminton Championships, played in Birmingham in February 2003, Muhammed Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia beat defending champion Chen Hong of China for the men's singles title. It was the first time in 37 years that a Malaysian had won the men's singles event. The Indonesian men's doubles team of Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto won over defending champions Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon of South Korea. The three remaining events featured all-Chinese finals. Gao Ling teamed with Huang Sui to win the women's doubles and then with Zhang Jun to capture the mixed doubles. Zhou Mi easily dispatched Xie Xingfang for her first All England women's singles title.

      The Sudirman Cup, an international mixed-team event, was contested in Eindhoven, Neth., in March. China had been dominating the biennial competition, winning every time since 1995. After narrowly defeating Denmark in its semifinal, however, South Korea denied the Chinese a fifth straight title with a 3–1 final-round upset. The key match for South Korea came in the men's singles event, when Lee Hyun Il stunned world number one Chen Hong.

      The spotlight returned to Birmingham in late July for the world championships. China's Xia Xuanze won the men's singles title, defeating Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia. In the men's doubles final, the young Danish team of Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen had an impressive win over Wijaya and Budiarto. China's Zhang Ning, who had earlier eliminated Danish great Camilla Martin in her last world championships appearance, was too strong for teammate Gong Ruina in the women's singles final. Chinese players earned another gold medal when Gao Ling and Huang Sui beat compatriots Wei Yili and Zhao Tingting for the women's doubles crown. After having lost to them in the 2001 world championships final, the South Korean mixed doubles team of Ra Kyung Min and Kim Dong Moon came through against Gao Ling and Zhang Jun.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 2003

      The temporary retirement of reigning Olympic badminton gold medalist Gong Zhichao opened the door for Denmark's Camilla Martin at the All England championships in Birmingham, Eng., in March 2002. Nevertheless, Martin had to overcome four formidable Chinese opponents on her way to her first All England title, including a semifinal victory over Dai Yun and a final-round win over world champion Gong Ruina. China fared better in other events, as the 2001 men's singles runner-up, Chen Hong, won his first title against Indonesian Budi Santoso. In women's doubles all four semifinal teams were Chinese, with Gao Ling and Huang Sui, the world number one team, emerging victorious. South Korea's Kim Dong Moon captured the men's doubles title with Ha Tae Kwon and the mixed doubles with Ra Kyung Min.

      The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup, team events for men and women, respectively, were held in Guangzhou, China, in May. As expected, the Indonesian men advanced to the Thomas Cup finals with a semifinal win over Denmark. In the other semifinal Malaysia staged a stunning upset of China, owing in large part to Malaysian Hafiz Hashim's comeback against Bao Chunlai. In the final it was Indonesian Hendrawan's turn to be the hero, clinching the deciding point against Malaysia's Roslin Hashim and securing his team's fourth Thomas Cup title in a row. In women's Uber Cup competition, China earned its third straight title and eighth overall by defeating South Korea in the final.

      South Korea's Ra and Lee Kyung Won captured the Japan Open women's doubles by defeating Gao and Huang. At the Indonesian Open, Taufik Hidayat thrilled the home crowd with his men's singles win over Chen Hong, while Gong Ruina took the women's singles. Denmark's Peter Gade, a former world number one, marked his return to the sport after an almost yearlong injury layoff with a victory at the U.S. Open in September. The Asian Games featured South Korean victories in all three doubles events, while Hidayat won the men's singles. In the Copenhagen Masters, China's Zhang Ning outplayed Martin, while the Indonesian men's doubles team of Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya defeated Martin Lundgaard and Jens Eriksen. Gade dispatched Peter Rasmussen in an all-Danish men's singles final.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 2002

      In 2001, for the first time in 21 years, a badminton player from India captured the prestigious All-England Championships. Pullela Gopichand defeated world number one Peter Gade of Denmark 17–14, 17–15 in a thrilling semifinal and Chinese national champion Chen Hong 15–12, 15–6 in the final. Reigning Olympic champion Gong Zhichao of China easily dismissed her teammate Zhou Mi for the women's singles crown, and in an all-Indonesian men's doubles final, Halim Haryanto and Tony Gunawan topped Sigit Budiarto and Chandra Wijaya. The championships, held in Birmingham in March, also featured Chinese winners in women's doubles and mixed doubles.

      The Sudirman Cup, a best-of-five-match mixed-team competition held every other year, was contested in Seville, Spain, on May 28–June 2. In the semifinals, China edged Denmark 3–2 in a match that included Gong Zhichao's demolition of reigning world champion Camilla Martin of Denmark 11–1, 11–0. China faced Indonesia in the final and, after losing the opening men's doubles match, won three matches in a row to capture the title 3–1.

      The world championships were staged in Seville immediately after the Sudirman Cup. In the men's singles semifinals, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia was leading his teammate Hendrawan until a groin injury forced him to retire. Hendrawan, a silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games, then defeated Gade for his first world championship title. In the men's doubles competition, Gunawan and Haryanto conquered defending champions Kim Dong Moon and Ha Tae Kwan of South Korea. When Martin fell victim to an early-round upset, Gong Zhichao became the favourite but lost to teammate and eventual women's champion Gong Ruina in the semifinals. Chinese players accounted for the remaining two titles as Gao Ling and Huang Sui won the women's doubles and Zhang Jun and Gao Ling took the mixed doubles.

      At the World Grand Prix Finals held in Brunei in August, Xia Xuaneze became the first Chinese man to win a major badminton title in 2001 with a final-round victory over Indonesia's Marleve Mainaky. Gong Zhichao lost to Zhou Mi in the women's singles final. Gunawan and Wijaya successfully defended their doubles title, and Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei of China took the women's doubles. The only European winners were the Danish mixed-doubles team of Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 2001

      Once again, Chinese badminton players—especially the women—captured most of the important events of the year. Although China had been the sport's powerhouse in recent years, its domination was raised to a new level in 2000.

      At the All-England Championships in March, Xia Xuanze of China posted four consecutive upsets to win the men's singles title. In the final Xia defeated Taufik Hidayat, an Indonesian teenager who was hoping to become the youngest men's singles champion of the open era. The women's singles final saw Gong Zhichao of China win her first title in two years with a final-round victory over compatriot Dai Yun.

      The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup, team events for men and women, respectively, featured China in both finals. This event was the first time since 1990 that the Chinese men had advanced to the championship round; the Indonesian men's team beat China 3–0, however. The women's competition saw the appearance of Denmark in the final for the first time since 1960, but in the best-of-five match final, the Chinese women won easily 3–0.

      China's medal haul at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, paled its performances at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Ga. In Atlanta China won four medals, only one of which was gold. In Sydney, however, the tally was eight: four gold, one silver, and three bronze. Ji Xinpeng, seeded seventh, was the giant killer of the men's singles event, scoring numerous upsets on his way to victory. After eliminating the top-seeded Hidayat and the world top-ranked Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark, Ji beat the second-seeded Hendrawan of Indonesia for the gold medal.

      In the women's final China's Gong Zhichao rallied from behind to beat current world champion Camilla Martin of Denmark. The Chinese women's doubles team of Ge Fei and Gu Jun, virtually unbeatable over the past four years, defended the title they won in Atlanta. The women's doubles competition marked the first time a country had taken gold, silver, and bronze in an Olympic badminton event. Chinese players also won the mixed doubles title, while the remaining gold medal went to the Indonesian men's doubles team of Tony Gunawan and Chandra Wijaya.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 2000

      Because of a conflict with the Asian Games in December 1998, the $300,000 World Grand Prix Finals were postponed until February 1999. A select field of the world's best badminton players gathered for the sport's richest tournament, held in Brunei. Defending men's singles champion Sun Jun of China overcame world number one-ranked Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark, and Zhang Ning of China defeated teammate Dai Yun for the women's singles title.

      The All-England Championships, held in Birmingham in March, were markedly different from the previous year's event. In 1998 Chinese players dominated three of the five events, with South Koreans winning the other two. In 1999, however, competitors from five different nations emerged victorious. Women's world number one Ye Zhaoying of China defended her title, while Gade Christensen won the biggest title of his career by defeating Indonesian teenager Taufik Hidayat in the final. The English mixed doubles team of Simon Archer and Joanne Goode thrilled the home crowd with a final-round victory over Ha Tae Kwon and Chung Jae Hee of South Korea. The Indonesian team of Chandra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan took the men's doubles title, and South Korea's Ra Kyung Min and Chung Jae Hee captured the women's doubles crown.

      The world championships, held every other year, were held in Copenhagen in May. Fung Permadi of Taiwan shocked the home crowd with a stunning upset of Gade Christensen in the semifinals. Sun Jun then prevailed against Permadi in the final for his first world championship. In women's singles Camilla Martin of Denmark became a national heroine by defeating Dai Yun of China for her first world title. South Korea won two events; Kim Dong Moon won the men's doubles title with Ha Tae Kwon and the mixed doubles trophy with Ra Kyung Min. China's Ge Fei and Gu Jun continued their four-year supremacy when they easily defended their women's doubles crown.

      The Sudirman Cup, a world mixed-team event played every other year, was also held in Copenhagen. The Chinese team—winners in 1995 and 1997—continued to dominate the event with a final-round victory over Denmark.

Donn Gobbie

▪ 1999

      Many badminton experts were surprised when 20-year-old Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark finished 1997 on top of the men's singles world rankings. At the Japan Open in January 1998, however, Gade Christensen easily defeated Luo Yigang of China to win the sport's first major event of the year and proved his number-one status was no accident. Gong Zhichao of China rose to the top of the women's singles world rankings by way of her victory over compatriot and top seed Ye Zhaoying.

      The All-England Championships in March were characterized by early defeats of the world's number-one singles players. Zhang Ning of China upset Gong Zhichao and reached the final, only to lose to Ye Zhaoying. In the men's event Ong Ewe Hock of Malaysia defeated Gade Christensen in the third round and advanced to the final, where Sun Jun of China prevailed. Chinese players claimed a third title when world women's doubles champions Ge Fei and Gu Jun eliminated Ra Kyung Min and Jang Hye Ock of South Korea. South Korean players captured the men's doubles and mixed doubles titles.

      The Uber Cup and Thomas Cup competitions—the women's and men's world team championships, respectively—were staged in Hong Kong in May. The Indonesian men's team emphasized its dominance by winning its third consecutive Thomas Cup, with a 3-2 victory over Malaysia. The superb singles play of Indonesia's Hendrawan—in his first Thomas Cup appearance—established him as a new international badminton star. Four months later Hendrawan gave another glimpse of his promising future by defeating Sun Jun and Gade Christensen in the Singapore Open. The Chinese women's team regained the Uber Cup title with a 4-1 win over defending champion Indonesia.Key matches were Ye Zhaoying's defeat of Indonesia's Susi Susanti and Gong Zhichao's triumph as she came back from three match points down in the second set to vanquish Mia Audina. As 1998 drew to a close, Susanti, one of the game's legendary competitors, announced her retirement.

DONN GOBBIE

▪ 1998

      The major international badminton events of 1997 were thoroughly dominated by players from China. At the All-England championships in Birmingham, Eng., in March, Chinese athletes claimed titles in four of the five divisions. Dong Jiong defeated 1996 Olympic gold medalist Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark in the semifinals of the men's singles event and then beat teammate Sun Jun in the final. In another all-Chinese final, Ye Zhaoying confirmed her world number-one ranking by overpowering Gong Zhichao 11-1, 11-3 for the women's singles crown. Olympic gold medalists Ge Fei and Gu Jun took the women's doubles title, defeating Indonesians Eliza and Resiana Zelin. Ge Fei then teamed with Liu Yong to claim the mixed doubles title with a victory over the top-seeded Indonesian pair of Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur. Kang Kyung Jin and Ha Tae Kwon of South Korea prevented a Chinese sweep by winning the men's doubles title over Denmark's Michael Sogaard and Jon Holst-Christensen.

      The Sudirman Cup, an international mixed-team competition held every other year, was contested in Glasgow, Scot., in May. South Korea scored a mild upset in the semifinals with a close 3-2 win over Denmark, setting up a final-round confrontation with China. China had earlier advanced to the finals by narrowly defeating Indonesia 3-2. In the championship round China defeated South Korea in all five events to capture its second consecutive title.

      The world championships were staged in Glasgow immediately after the Sudirman Cup. Chinese players advanced to four of the five title matches, with two events featuring all-Chinese finals. In a rematch of the one-sided All-England women's singles final, defending world champion Ye Zhaoying again bested compatriot Gong Zhichao. Denmark gained some revenge on China in the men's singles final, with Peter Rasmussen edging Sun Jun in a marathon two-hour match. In the men's doubles competition, the Indonesian team of Budiarto Sigit and Chandra Wijaya overcame the Malaysian duo of Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock in an impressive 8-15, 18-17, 15-7 comeback victory.

DONN GOBBIE

▪ 1997

      Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen, known as the "Great Dane," laid claim to badminton's two most important titles in 1996, a gold medal in men's singles at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., and a second consecutive men's singles All-England championship in March in Birmingham, Eng. He won in a sport almost completely dominated by Asia. At the Olympics he was the only European to place first, second, or third in any badminton event; Indonesia, China, South Korea, and Malaysia took 14 out of a possible 15 medals.

      The 1996 Olympic Games would likely be the last for two of badminton's legendary players. Indonesia's "Queen of Badminton," Susi Susanti, surrendered her Olympic crown to South Korea's Bang Soo Hyun and was expected to leave the game soon after her marriage in February 1997 to teammate and fellow 1992 gold medalist Alan Budi Kusuma. Also stepping down was South Korea's 1992 Olympic doubles gold medalist Park Joo Bong, whose comeback in mixed doubles fell a bit short when he and partner Ra Kyung Min succumbed in 1996 to Kim Dong Moon and Gil Young Ah of South Korea in the Olympic gold medal match. Gil's gold in mixed doubles was her second of the 1996 Olympic competition, as she also took silver in women's doubles. This marked the first time in badminton history that an athlete had won two medals in a single Olympic competition.

      Indonesia won both the men's Thomas Cup and the women's Uber Cup world team championships in May in Hong Kong. The Indonesian men's 5-0 victory over Denmark was their 10th Thomas Cup championship, a title that had been won by only three countries (Indonesia, China, and Malaysia) since its inception in 1948. Indonesia's 4-1 Uber Cup victory over China marked its third such title. (PAUL PAWLACZYK)

▪ 1996

      China defeated Indonesia 3-1 in the world mixed team championships at Lausanne, Switz., May 17-21, 1995, and thereby took home its first Sudirman Cup. China's victory emphasized its reemergence as a world power in badminton. The women's doubles pair of Ge Fei and Gu Jun started the barrage for China by defeating Indonesia's Elisa and Rosiana Zelin 15-9, 15-10. Indonesia's Olympic and world champion, Susi Susanti, failed to live up to expectations, being crushed by China's Ye Zhaoying 11-2, 11-3 in a match that took only 20 minutes and gave China a crucial 2-0 lead. All hope for victory was lost for Indonesia following the men's singles competition, in which China's Sun Jun defeated Heryanto Arbi 15-7, 9-15, 15-11. Indonesia's top-ranked men's doubles team of Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky then prevented a shutout by defeating China's Jiang Xin and Huang Zhanzhong 11-15, 15-11, 15-6. The final mixed doubles match was not contested.

      Held in conjunction with the Sudirman Cup in Lausanne were the world championships. In the men's singles Arbi avenged his loss in the Sudirman Cup by defeating South Korea's Park Sung Woo 15-11, 15-8 to take the title. In women's singles Ye Zhaoying again easily defeated Susanti 5-11, 11-8, 11-2 in the semifinals and then went on to defeat Han Jingna of China 11-7, 11-10 in the final. Subagja and Mainaky again demonstrated that they were the best men's doubles pair in the world, defeating Jon Holst-Christensen and Thomas Lund of Denmark 15-5, 15-2. Gil Young Ah and Jang Hye Ock of South Korea defeated Indonesia's Lili Tampi and Finarsih 3-15, 15-11, 15-10 for the women's title. It was all Denmark in the mixed doubles final as Lund and Marlene Thomsen defeated fellow Danes Jens Eriksen and Helene Kirkegaard 15-2, 15-6.

      (PAUL PAWLACZYK)

▪ 1995

      Indonesia rode the home-court advantage to domination of the badminton world in capturing 1994's Thomas and Uber cups. Contested in Jakarta, these biennial competitions featured (as always) three singles and two doubles matches for the men's Thomas Cup and the women's Uber Cup.

      On the men's side Indonesia came through its preliminary round-robin group without losing a single match to either Finland, Sweden, or China, which finished second. In the other group Malaysia placed first, followed by South Korea, Denmark, and Thailand. The semifinals, following the cups' format, pitted Indonesia against South Korea and Malaysia against China. By twin scores of 4-1, Indonesia and defending champion (from 1992) Malaysia qualified for the final.

      In the final Heryanto Arby started things off on the right foot for Indonesia by beating Rashid Sidek at first singles 15-6, 15-11. Bambang Suprianto and Gunawan at first doubles kept up the momentum and defeated Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang 15-10, 6-15, 15-8. Ardy Wiranata provided the decisive third point by beating Ong Ewe Hock 15-11, 15-5 in the second singles, at which time the stadium erupted into a near riot and the two final (and immaterial) matches were canceled. This was Indonesia's first Thomas Cup in 10 years.

      In women's competition Indonesia came through on top of its group by beating Thailand, Denmark, and Sweden, which finished second. China won the other group, with South Korea second, followed by Japan and Russia. In the semifinals Indonesia defeated South Korea 4-1, and China beat Sweden 3-2. This Uber Cup came to a dramatic climax as Indonesia's 14-year-old third-singles player, Mia Audina, took the court against China's Zhang Ning. The match was tied at 2-2 after Susi Susanti defeated Ze Zhaoying 11-4, 12-10, Lili Tampi and Finarsih beat Chen Ying and Wu Yuhong 15-13, 17-16, Yuliani Santoso lost to Han Jingna 5-11, 5-11, and Eliza and Zellin fell to Ge Fei and Gu Jun 10-15, 8-15. Audina rose to the occasion and won 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 to bring the Uber Cup to Indonesia for the first time since 1975. (WARREN K. EMERSON)

▪ 1994

      Indonesia and South Korea posted strong showings at the 1993 world championships in Birmingham, England. This biannual tournament features two events—a team world championship for the Sudirman Cup and competition for individuals.

      South Korea successfully defended its Sudirman Cup title against Indonesia the same way it had won it in 1991—by dominating the doubles events. First, Park Joo Bong and Gil Young Ah won the mixed doubles 15-2, 15-7 over Aryono Miranat and Eliza; then Kim Hak Kyun lost 11-15, 7-15 to Ardy Wiranata in men's singles, and Bang Soo Hyun lost 6-11, 6-11 to Susi Susanti in women's singles; Gil Young Ah and Chung So Young fought off two match (and title) points in the second game before defeating Lili Tampi and Finarsih 6-15, 17-15, 15-11 in women's doubles; finally, inevitably, Park Joo Bong and Kim Moon Soo clinched the Sudirman Cup by emphatically beating Ricky Subagja and Rudy Gunawan 15-10, 15-6 in men's doubles.

      Indonesia, however, regrouped to take three titles in the individual events. Joko Suprianto beat compatriot Hermawan Susanto 15-5, 15-11 for the men's singles title; Susanti again triumphed over South Korea's Bang in women's singles 7-11, 11-9, 11-3; and Subagja and Gunawan defeated Malaysia's Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang 15-11, 15-3 in men's doubles. In women's doubles there was an all-China final as Nong Qunhua and Zhou Lei defeated Chen Ying and Wu Yuhong 15-5, 15-10. European dominance of mixed doubles continued as Denmark's Thomas Lund and Sweden's Catrine Bengtsson beat Denmark's Jon Holst-Christensen and Grete Mogensen 10-15, 15-6, 15-12. (WARREN K. EMERSON)

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▪ England, United Kingdom

also called  Great Badminton 

      village (“parish”), South Gloucestershire unitary authority, historic county of Gloucestershire, southwestern England. Badminton House, seat of the dukes of Beaufort, stands in a large park in the locality. The original manor of Badminton was acquired in 1608 from Nicholas Boteler (to whose family it had belonged for several centuries) by Thomas, Viscount Somerset of Cashel, third son of Edward, 4th earl of Worcester. The present ducal mansion was built in 1682 in Palladian style on the site of the old manor house. The game of badminton derives its name from the estate. The park is also well known for its horse trials. Pop. (2001) 258.

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