Thai shuttlers crush Canada in opener

Propelled by three key players led by junior world No 1 Busanan Ongbumrungpan, the Thai squad was barely tested on the way to winning all five rubbers in less than two hours. 

Dechapol Pauvaranukroh and Puttita Supajirakul set the tone by trouncing Dunacn Yao and Kyleigh O’Donoghue in the mixed doubles 21-17 21-8 in just 20 minutes.

Then junior world No 2 Sitthikom Thammasin shook off a back injury to tame Benny Lin 21-8 21-9 in the men’s singles, before seeking medical attention.  

“It happened while I was chasing for a shot,” said Sitthikom of the injury. “There’s nothing to worry about; I just wanted to be cautious by seeing a doctor. The goal is to be the winner of this group but the last round-robin tie against Denmark won’t be easy as they are junior European champions,’’ said the 18-year-old, who is hoping to reach the last eight for a rematch against Japan.

Thailand then sealed the tie in the third rubber when Busanan ended the resistance of Rachel Honderich 21-6 21-16. 

“She was more aggressive in the second game and the light on my side was not good after the changeover. But we all had the same problem and it depended on who could adjust faster,” said the Thai No 3, who won the Dutch Open two weeks ago.

The “dead” men’s and women’s doubles rubbers saw Sutichon Pol-Gul and Kittiphon Chairojkanjana beat Nathan Cheng and Bosco Lau 21-14 21-5 , and Puttita and Narissapat Lam oust Honderich and Brittney Tam 21-13 21-9. 

In the other Group Y 2 tie, Denmark blanked Botswana 5-0. 

Today, Thailand play Botswana at 9am and Denmark at 4pm in a battle to top the group.

Elsewhere, in the French Open in Paris on Tuesday, Thai top two Boonsak Ponsana and Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk were each stretched to three tough games in the men’s singles first round. Boonsak rallied after losing the first to pip Malaysia’s Daren Liew 15-21 21-15 21-19, while Tanongsak recovered from a tough second game to beat Lee Dong-keun of South Korea 21-10 20-22 21-17.

Meanwhile, Maneepong Jongjit and Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat Johannes Schoettler and Goliszewski of Germany 21-9 21-11 for a mixed doubles main-draw slot.

Doubles specialist Maneepong is playing his first tournament since being banned for three months by the Badminton World Federation for an on-court fight with former partner Bodin Issara in Vancouver.

Maneepong had been avoiding the limelight by visiting his parents in the South before returning to Bangkok to resume training “under the radar”. 

“What happened to me was a such a huge experience. I’ve learned there is nothing certain in life and that anything can happen. We have to live our life carefully,’’ said Maneepong, who with Sapsiree was due to take on Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthonmgkam in an all-Thai mixed doubles first-round match.