Sapsiree and Pornthip canter to victory

 

The 22-year-old world No 15 proved too much for the 40-year-old opponent. She and Pornthip Buranaprasertsuk were the only two Thai women who got past the first round yesterday.

 “I had a pretty easy draw as my opponent is more of a doubles player. She is not as physically strong as I am,” said Sapsiree, the 2010 Youth Olympics gold medallist who will take on Singapore’s Juan Gu, ranked 25th, who did not break sweat while advancing to the second round when fifthseed Shixian Wang of China withdrew due to sickness.

 “I have to be very prudent, waiting for the right opportunities to attack,” added the Thai second best ranked player after Ratchanon Intanon, No 2, who skipped the event due to a back injury.

Thai No 5 and world No 18 Pornthip also had a convincing first round victory, taming Austrian Simone Prutsch 21-9 21-9 in just 24 minutes. But three Thai ladies crashed out yesterday: Busanan Ongbumrungpan lost to China’s Xue Yao 21-15 21-18, Nichaon Jindapon went down to seventh seeded Minatsu Mitani of Japan 21-15 21-13 and Natcha Saengchote fell to China’s Di Suo 21-14 21-15.

In the men’s singles action Thai No 2 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk had no problem handling Taiwan’s Jen Hao Su 21-14 21-15 after 36 minutes of battle. The world No 19 preferred to skip the Taiwan Open last week as he was busy with commercial commitments in India where he helped Hyderabad Hotshots win the lucrative Indian Badminton League 

“I focused on my offensive style. I was no longer worried about my back injury and I could play with confidence,” said the player, who will take on either South Korean qualifier Wan Ho Son or Japan’s eight seed Takuma Ueda in the second round.

Thai No 1 and third seeded Boonsak Ponsana was upset by Dong Keun Lee of South Korea 21-11 21-19.