Sudket and Saralee enter the quarters
The mixed doubles team of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkham emulated compatriots Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit by reaching the quarter-finals of the badminton competition.
It marked the first time that four Thais have proceeded into the Olympics quarter-finals of this event.
The world No 6 Sudket and Saralee, who also reached the last eight in the 2008 Beijing Games, beat seventh-ranked Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh of Malaysia 21-16 21-15 in their last Group D preliminary round match yesterday. It was a quick recovery for the former world No 1 pair, who lost their first match to Chinese second-seeded Chen Xu and Jin Ma 19-21 12-21 on Monday.
They finished second in the group behind the Chinese pair and secured a spot in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics. They will play the top finishers from Group B.
“I’m happy to finally make it to the quarter-finals in the Olympics again. No matter who we have to play from now on, it will be tough. Only strong players qualify for the next stage,’’ said Sudket.
Also advancing into the men’s doubles quarter-finals were Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit, who completed their domination in the men’s doubles Group B round-robin following a win over Poland’s Adam Cwalina and Michal Logosz on Monday.
After two straight wins, the red-hot Thais inexplicably dropped their first game 14-21 before levelling the tie with a 21-12 win. Leading 17-15, Cwalina twisted his right ankle while chasing a drop shot from Maneepong and collapsed in a heap. The Polish pair were forced to retire from the match.
