All five Danes in the last 16 advanced further to ensure their nation at least a bronze medal. The five were joined by Fung Permadi of Taiwan, Hendrawan of Indonesia and just one Chinese, second seed Sun Jun.

Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen showed the way by beating former Commonwealth champion Rashid Sidek of Malaysia 15-6, 15-8. He was followed by Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen's 17-14, 15-5 win over Japan's Kaita Masuda. Kenneth Jonassen worked hard for a one-hour 15-11 10-15, 15-5 triumph over Indonesian third seed Budi Santoso but Peter Gade Christensen had no trouble toppling Malaysia's Yong Hock Kin 15-9, 15-3.

Denmark, as if determined to atone for the Sudirman Cup mixed team final defeat by China, have two players through to the last eight of the women's singles. Third seed Camilla Martin was again the quickest winner with a 24-minutevictory over South Korean Kim Ji-Hyin 11-6, 11-1. The other Dane, Mette Sorensen, meets unseeded Kellymorgan of Wales. Sun seeking to eclipse SUN Jun, the only Chinese player left in the men's singles as the World Badminton Championships enter the quarter-final stages, has revealed all the planning that has gone into his 1999 title challenge.

Second seed Sun, who lost a crippling two-hour marathon final with Denmark's Peter Rasmussen in Glasgow two years ago, meets Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen late today, with a bronze medal the least that the winner will pick up.

But he wants to become the first Chinese player to win the title since Zhao Jianhua in 1991. Stuer-Lauridsen is one of five Danes in the last eight. Four of them made it to the last eight in 1997 and Kenneth Jonassen now joins Stuer-Lauridsen, defending champion Rasmussen, world number one and top seed Peter Gade, and Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen.