Aussies skewer rivals to reign at Khanom Open

New Zealand were eyeing the men’s crown after both their pairings made the semi-finals on Thursday morning, but their hopes quickly evaporated in the hot Nakhon Si Thammarat sun. The first semi-final saw Australia 1’s Isaac Kapa and McHugh recover from a set down to New Zealand 1’s Ben Martin O’Dea and Jason William Lochhead with counter-attacking verve that clinched a 17-21 21-16 19-17 win.

In the other semi-final Kazakhstan 1’s reigning champs Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko snuffed out Kiwi dreams by thrashing New Zealand 2’s Samuel John O’Dea and Brendon John Heath in straight sets, 21-13 21-14.

In the final the more experienced Dyachenko and Sidorenko performed superbly to bag the opening set 21-18, but Aussies Isaac Kapa and McHugh hit back with deceptive cross-court spikes and drops to edge the second 21-19. Adrenaline levels soared in the tie-breaker as both sides launched barrages. The Aussies stayed coolest under pressure to conquer the reigning champs 15-12 and capture the men’s crown and the US$3,000 prize money. Dyachenko and Sidorenko took home US$2,500.

In the all-Kiwi third-place battle, Samuel O’Dea and Heath rallied against Ben O’Dea and Lochhead for a 2-1 (16-21 21-13 15-11) win and a cheque for US$2,000. 

On the women’s side, Australia 1’s Louise Anne Bawden and Taliqua Shanice Clancy started the day by crushing Tatayana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova of Kazakhstan 1 21-17 21-12 in the semi-finals. The underlined their dominance in the final with a comfortable 21-12 21-10 win in just 33 minutes over Mutsumi Ozaki and Ayumi Kusano of Japan 2 to reign supreme.

Bawden and Clancy of Australia 1 claimed US$3,000 and the Champion’s trophy, with Japanese Kusano and Ozaki receiving US$2,500. The third-place play-off saw Kazakhs Mashkova and Tsimbalova power past Thais Jarunee Sannok and Usa Tenpaksee 21-14 21-14 without much effort.

The players yesterday left for Songkhla for the Samila Open, held at Samila Beach from tomorrow to Tuesday.