Busanan powers into semi-finals at junior Worlds
Busanan Ongbumrungpan guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal in the badminton World Junior Championships after she outclassed Indonesian Hana Ramadhini 21-10 21-8 in the women's singles quarter-finals at Hua Mark Sports Complex yesterday.
Walking onto the court amid high pressure after Pannawit Thongnuam and four other Thais had earlier exited the tournament, world junior No 1 Busanan kept her cool and produced a superior all-court game to thrash her diminutive rival in just 32 minutes.
“When I saw so many fans in the stands supporting me, I was so motivated. I tried to turn all the pressure to my benefit,” said the 17-year-old, whose semi-final berth is her best result in the tournament.
“Last year I reached the quarter-finals, so I’m now a step further. But I am not thinking too far ahead, as I still have to focus on my next match,” added the pre-tournament favourite, who graduated to the senior tour a few years ago and captured her second title there in the Dutch Open last month.
The Thai sensation was in charge right from start, displaying better techniques and shot selection to establish a 12-0 lead in the first game and 7-0 in the second. Although she made some simple mistakes, the teenager always refocused quickly to dictate most of the points.
“I have played her before so I knew what I had to do. I pretty much controlled things and followed the coach’s game plan,” added Busanan, who faces either South Korea’s Kim Hyo-min or Akane Yamagushi of Japan tomorrow.
Earlier, Thailand lost two mixed doubles teams to the quarter-final defeats. Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Puttita Supajirakul went down 21-18 21-11 to Kaixiang Huang and Qingchen Chen of China while Kittiphon Chairojkanjana and Narissapat Lam lost 21-12 21-6 against Kevin Sanja Sukamuljo and Masita Mahmudin of Indonesia.
After showing a formidable form to beat Taiwan’s Yang Sheng-jie on Thursday night, Pannawit, the lone Thai remaining in the men’s singles quarter-finals, failed to maintain his standard in a 21-10 21-8 loss to Indonesian Ihsan Maulana Mustofa. Mustofa next plays South Korea’s Kwang Hee-heo, while the other semi-final will feature Taiwan’s Tzu Wei Wang and the winner between Christie Jonatan and China’s Jun Peng Zhao.
