Busanan on form ahead of title defence

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2013
Busanan on form ahead of title defence

Top seed Busanan Ongbumrungphan eased into the second round of the London Grand Prix with a 21-17 21-16 win over home shuttler Fontaine Mica Chapman on Wednesday.

World No 20 Busanan, who will lead Thailand at the World Junior Championships at the end of this month, outclassed her 88th-ranked British opponent in just 36 minutes. 
Former Thai No 1 Salakjit Ponsana, sister of Boonsak, also advanced into the round of 16 after she beat Denmark’s Natalia Koch Rhode 21-18 21-11. Salakjit was to play China’s eighth-seeded Deng Xuan in round two. Second seed Porntip Buranaprasertsuk was less fortunate, upset by Japanese Sayaka Sato 20-22 19-21. 
In the women’s doubles first round, Porntip bounced back from the singles shock by teaming up with Busanan to beat Sarah Thomas and Carissa Turner of Wales 21-10 21-16. Narissapat Lam and Savitree Amitrapai also cruised to the second round, with a 21-8 21-8 win over Lynnlette Aung and Brodie Miller of England.