Thai hopes rest on 'A' team in Phuket
Thailand A's top seeds Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee suffered a shock defeat to 16th seeds Rimke Braakman and Jantine van der Vlist but still made the knockout round of the PTT Phuket Thailand Open at Karon Beach yesterday.
On a day when heavy downpours played havoc with the competition, world No 42 Varapatsorn and Radarong went down to the world No 60 Dutch 21-16 21-18 in a match to decide the Pool A winners.
Despite the defeat, the Thai duo emerged as the lone Thai survivors in the round of 24, where the teams finishing second and third from each pool will play in the first round of knockout contests today.
The eight winners here will then move up to face the pool winners in the afternoon’s knockout second round.
In other action, Thailand B’s Rumpaipruet Numwong and Khanittha Hongpak and Thailand C’s Usa Tenpaksee and Yupa Phokrongploy were all eliminated from the tournament.
Rumpaipruet and Khanittha had a must-win match against American ninth seeds Emily Day and Summer Ross.
However, things turned sour for the Thais when the much stronger Day and Ross quickly found their feet, shattering the rivals’ dreams of qualification 21-16 21-16 in 36 minutes.
“We did our best. We had a chance to beat them, but our bad form in the final assault caused our loss,” said Rumpaipruet. “By playing much stronger rivals, I think we have learned a lot,” she added.
Rumpaipruet and Khanittha took home US$800 and a bonus of $400.
Usa Tenpaksee, with new partner Yupa Phokrongploy, lost a third consecutive match to 18th seeds Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude of Germany 21-18 19-21 15-12.
