HONG KONG'S young badminton hopefuls were on parade in the Konica Hong Kong Open last week and coach Chan Chi-choi was not too disappointed, although none of his charges advanced further than the second round. Teenage Asian Games shuttler Tam Kai-chuen pulled off a stunning first round upset when he toppled Thailand's Teeranan Chiangta 14-17, 15-9, 15-8. But he bowed out to Indonesia's Olympic champion Allan Budi Kusuma in his next match. Another youth player to make the second round was Tam Lok-tin, who crushed Macau's Che Ion-chun 15-6, 15-0 in his opening match. But Lok-tin also found the going tough in the next round when he came up against China's Lin Liwen and was convincingly beaten in straight sets. Wong Kwok-wai, Chan Tze-kin, Cham Ka-man, Wong Nam-wah, Liu Kwok-wa, Ma Chi-wai, Yaau Kwun-yuen and Leung Kwok-fun all failed to win a match in the men's singles draw. But coach Chan said: 'I'm not at all disappointed, because everybody tried their best, and they need the exposure at such top-level competitions. 'After all, this is the fourth richest tournament on the badminton Grand Prix calendar. It has attracted one of the strongest line-ups to assemble this year. 'And I am particularly impressed by Kai-chuen's win over Chiangta because the Thai beat Wong Wai-lap, our No 1 player, at the Asian Games last month.' The junior players in the women's singles - Lam Hoi-yee, Lee Sze-ka and Chan Mei-mei - all crashed out after only one match. Indonesian players completed a sweep of the men's and doubles titles, while South Koreans dominated in the women's division. Asian Games champion Heryanto Arbi defeated fellow-Indonesian and world No 1 Ardy Wiranata for the men's crown, while Ricky Subadgja and Rexy Mainaky also repeated their Hiroshima success by beating compatriots Bambang Suprianto and Rudy Gunawan in the doubles final. South Korea's Asian Games gold medallist Bong Soo-hyun captured the women's singles title by stopping Chinese defector Lim Xiaoqing, now representing Sweden. Shim Eun-jung and Jang Hye-ock, also Asian Games champions, wrapped up the women's doubles title. with a victory over Chinese Ge Fei and Gun Jun. The only event that did not go to Asian Games winners was the mixed doubles, won by top-seeded Danes Thomas Lund and Marlene Thomsen.
