HRH PRINCESS Sirivannavari Nariratana tries to retrieve a drop shot as doubles partner Nattapon Naktong looks on during the first-round match against South Korean top seeds Lee Jae-jin and Lee Hyo-jung. The Thai pair lost 2-0 to the world No 4 pair.

Boonsak Ponsana kept the spirits of the local fans high with two wins in the SCG World Grand Prix Thailand Open Badminton Championships yesterday.

Meanwhile, HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana paired up with Nattapon Naktong and fought bravely against the top duo and world No four Lee Jae-jin and Lee Hyo-jung of South Korea before going down 21-16 21-13.

Cheered on by boisterous fans, estimated to number more than 1,500, at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Boonsak, the 2004 champion, outclassed Malaysians Lim Kenn 21-9 21-8 in the morning's first round and Mohd Nazree Latifi 21-8 21-13 in the evening's second round.

The world No 10 and ninth-seeded Boonsak displayed his repertoire of shots and solid defence to tame Mohd Nazree Latifi, ranked only 153 in the world.

"Latifi is an experienced player. That's why I have to work hard for every point. It was a very tough match,'' said Boonsak, who will meet long-time rival sixth-ranked Lee Hyun-li of South Korea in the second round at 6.20pm today.

Boonsak lost in their two previous meetings this year in Singapore and Indonesia but is hoping to turn things around on home court. Lee beat Indonesia's Yunus Alamsyah 21-10 21-16 in round two.

"Lee is playing at the top of his game right now while I am quite confident with my performance. If nothing goes wrong, I think I stand a chance,'' said Boonsak, who claimed that his defeats to the South Korean were due to sickness and exhaustion.

"Now my body is stronger than before. I just have to play a fast attacking game and make him lose balance as he doesn't run much,'' he said

Soratja Chansrisukot became the lone Thai to advance to the women's singles second round when she defeated Taiwanese qualifier Chiu Yi Ju 21-18 21-18 in the first round. Soratja was happy that she settled a score with the Taiwanese.

"She underestimated me a little bit because she beat me in the Chinese Taipei Open two years ago. Though I made a lot of errors I hit a variety of shots,'' said the 21-year-old sophomore from Kasetsart University.

The Thai now has a great chance of earning a quarter-final spot in the Open for the first time in four attempts as she will next play Japan's Ai Goto of Japan, the replacement of world No 1 Zhang Ning, who pulled out with an injury. Goto edged out Malaysian Pei Xian Wong Julia 21-18 7-21 21-15.

"I think I can play her and the match should be very close. Normally I would have to play a seeded player in the second round, so this is a good opportunity to move further,'' she added. Five other Thai women including Thai ace Salakjit Ponsana collapsed in their first round action. Salakjit, the younger sister of Boonsak, fell to Chinese sixth-seeded Lu Lan 21-15 21-10.

Second seed Xie Xingfang of China, title-holder and third seed Yao Jie of the Netherlands and fourth seed Kaori Mori went through to the second round.

In the men's singles first round played earlier in the day, Poompat Sapkulchananart moved past countryman Pisit Poodchalat 21-7 21-5. He and Boonsak are the only two of the nine local men to survive round one.

The defending champion, eighth-seeded Muhd Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia, kicked off his title campaign in style, breezing past Tanongsak Saengsomboonsuk 21-8 21-16.

Two seeds were eliminated in the opening round. John Moody of Australia upset 12th-seed Kuan Beng Hong of Malaysia 21-19 21-11.

Yogendran Krishnan of Malaysia stunned India's 13th-seeded Chetan Anand 23-21 21-11.

In the mixed doubles first round, local big names Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkham, seeded third, had no problem picking off Taiwanese Sheng Min Chin and Pei Ling Tsai 21-10 21-10. But sixth-seeded Songpol Anugritayawan and Kulchala Worawichitchaikul were upended by Taiwanese qualifiers Chieh Min Fang and Yu Chin Chien of Taiwan 20-22 21-12 21-14.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam,

Somporn Suphop

The Nation