Salakjit shows the way as Thais triumph
[BADMINTON] The Thai women's team scored a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Hong Kong in the round-robin preliminaries of the 15th Asian Games at the Aspire Hall yesterday.
The Kingdom lost their first two matches as world No 29 Soratja Chansrisukot suffered a disappointing 21-13 21-6 defeat to world No 4, Chinese-born Wang Chen, in the first encounter. Yip Pui Yin decimated another Thai, Monthila Meemek, in the second singles 21-15 21-19. Former Thai No 1 Salakjit Ponsana proved a saviour for her side as she beat Wong Olivia Sin Yee 21-13 21-14. Then Thailand registered another crucial victory in the first doubles match when Kunchala Voravichitchaikul and Dunaganong Aroonkesorn proved their superiority over Wang Chen and Koon Wai Chee Louisa 22-20 21-13. In the decider, Saralee Thungthongkham and Satinee Jankrajangwong proved just too much for the inexperienced Yip Pui Yin and Chau Hoi Wah. The world No 7 Thais powered past the challengers 21-14 21-11 to snuff out Hong Kong's hopes. Thailand now take on Singapore tomorrow. A win over them will get the Kingdom a place in the semi-finals, which will guarantee them a bronze medal. In table tennis, Thailand's women, who defeated Macau 3-0 on Wednesday, failed to deliver against Singapore in their second encounter, going down to the world No 5 team 3-1 in the round-robin preliminaries. Thai ace Nanthana Komwong, a two-time SEA Games bronze medallist, delighted her fans when she outclassed Sun Beibei 3-1 (11-4 6-11 11-9 11-9). But the joy was short-lived. Her team-mates Anisara Muangsuk and Sutthilux Rattanaprayoon came a cropper as they went down tamely to Li Jiawei and Zhang Xueling, respectively. Li thrashed Anisara 11-8 11-5 13-11 and Zhang hammered Sutthilux 11-4 11-6 11-2. Despite the loss, the Thai team has made it to the quarter-finals. The draw for the knockout round was to be made later yesterday. Meanwhile, world record-holder Saif Saeed Shaheen of Qatar has withdrawn from the Games due to an injury, enhancing Thai Boonthung Srisang's chances of winning a medal in the men's 5,000m. Preechachan Wiriyanupappong The Nation Doha
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