COPENHAGEN . May 4 : Indonesian world number one Ardy Wiranata twice saved match po-

ints to beat arch-rival Zhao Jianhua of China in the Sudirman Cup world mixed team badminton championship on Friday, reports Reuter.

Wiranata recently deposed Zhao as All-England champion, but it was his first win over his Chinese rival in six attempts and is bound to give an important psychological boost ahead of next week's world individual championships.

The 7-15. 17-16. 15-8 victory gave Indonesia a 3-0 winning lead before the Chinese salvaged a little pride by taking the men's and women's doubles. Cup holders Indonesia earned a semifinal match with Denmark, who went down 4-1 to South Korpa.

Although all four countries were assured of their semifinal slot before play began, there were no holds barred when

ZHAO JIAN HUA Wiranata met Zhao

It produced one of the sport's memorable encounters which kept the large crowd enthralled for 70 minutes.

Zhao, who had a disappointing time in the prestigious AllEngland championship in

March, was back to his best in the first game, smashing cross-court with venom and authority.

The Indonesian struck back in the second game and went into a 14-5 lead before Zhao staged an amazing recovery.

With the help of two lucky net calls at 12-14 and 13-14 he levelled the score, having saved two game points along the way.

In a series of splendid exchanges Wiranata saved two match points, the second an almost unbelievable return off a vicious smash delivered at the net by the Chinese.

The scores remained close in the third game until suddenly Zhao's stamina seemed to ebb. From 10-8 Wiranata ran through the last five points in under a minute.

Today's semifinal line-up will see 1989 runners-up South Korea against China, with Indonesia playing Denmark, the same semifinal line-up as In the inaugural even two years ago.