S. Korea, Japan in showdown

TOP seeds South Korea will face second seeds Japan in the final of the Asia-Oceania qualifying round of the world junior tennis boys championship at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Centre in Kuching. The Koreans ousted fourth seeds Australia 3-0 while Japan trounced Taiwan with the same score in the semi-finals yesterday. Chung Yun Seong gained Korea's first point by defeating Australian Brian Tran 6-2, 6-3, while Lee Duck Hee outplayed Oliver Anderson 6-1, 6-4 before the pair of Duck Hee and Oh Chan Yeong thrashed Anderson-Tran 6-0, 6-3. Taiwan will play Australia for third placing today while China will battle Hong Kong for fifth position. Uzbekistan and Thailand will vie for seventh place. China edged Uzbekistan 2-1 whilst Hong Kong overcame Thailand 2-0. The Philippines defeated India 2-0 while Indonesia edged New Zealand 2-1 in the 9th-12th placing playoffs. In the playoffs for 13th-16th positions, Malaysia lost their fifth consecutive match, falling 2-1 to Kazakhstan. Malaysia will play Syria (who lost 2-0 to Iran) today to avoid finishing as wooden spoonists. All matches in the April 30-May 5 tournament were played and going to be played at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Centre here. By Winston Way