GERMAN OPEN 2008 : KOREA SWEEPS GERMAN GOLD

In an all-northern-Asian finals day in Mulheim, Korea took all five golds on title, its first team brushing aside the Chinese and Japanese upstarts, but not without difficulty. It was the first time this decade that Korea had swept a Grand Prix event.

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At the end of a long year of rebuilding, the top Korean players, several still struggling to stake their claims to Olympic berths, descended on Mulheim, Germany to snatch up points that most top contenders forsook in favour of pre-All England rest.

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First up was the mixed doubles, where Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung evened the score with world #5 He/Yu of China (pictured), who had beaten the Koreans in the Malaysia Open final. The Chinese pair took the first game easily, 21-8, and the Koreans never held the lead until a 6-point run early in the second put them up 9-6. The Chinese maintained the upper hand and created 5 match-point opportunities, only to see the Koreans claw back to a tie each time before finally eking out a 27-25 win to tie the match.

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The final game was all Lees as they led throughout and took their second tournament title of 2008. Lee/Lee are still the second Korean pair in the rankings and, at world #12 and with a Super Series title to defend in two weeks, are still not assured of Olympic qualification.

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While Korean sweeps of doubles are not uncommon, seeing two singles players on the podium is a rare sight indeed. However, both Jun Jae Youn (pictured top) and Lee Hyun Il (pictured left) continued their fine form from their home event and took the titles that will tip them back into the top 10. Both players had to scrape by in their first games - Jun robbed China's Wang Yihan of 3 game points before winning 25-23 to take her one-game lead - but led throughout their second games to win comfortably. For 2006 World Junior champion Wang, it was the third Grand Prix final in six months, a clear signal that she will be a force to be reckoned with on the senior circuit.

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Two more Lees joined in the action in doubles as Lee Kyung Won shared in Lee Hyo Jung's second title assault where they beat Maeda/Suetsuna of Japan 21-17, 21-16. Lee Jae Jin and Hwang Ji Man, meanwhile, extended to 3 their winning streak over higher-ranked compatriots Lee/Jung with a straight-game win in men's doubles. Interestingly, the only tournaments either Korean pair have won in the past 2 years have come with wins over each other in final matches. The last time either pair beat a non-Korean pair in a tournament final was at the 2006 German Open.

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While the world's top players and the eyes of every fan head to Birmingham this week for the prestigious All England, Korea's juniors will be staying on in Germany along with many more of the world's top teenagers for the Yonex German Junior 2008.