World’s No. 2 Player Loses in U.S. Open Badminton

Jiong Dong of China, seeded first and ranked No. 2 in the world in men’s badminton, was upset by Alan Budi Kusuma of Indonesia in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open Badminton tournament Wednesday in Orange.

Kusuma, who is ranked 11th in the world and won the gold medal in men’s singles at the 1992 Olympics, defeated Dong, 15-13, 18-13.

He advances to the quarterfinal round, which starts today at the Orange County Badminton Club.

Also eliminated was Denmark’s Peter Rasmussen, the defending world champion. He was beaten by Jeroen van Dijk of the Netherlands, 4-15, 15-6, 15-7.

Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark, the ’96 Olympic gold medalist, rallied to beat China’s Gang Chen, 6-15, 15-7, 15-11.

The men’s quarterfinals begin at 4 p.m. today.