Boonsak downs the world No 1
[BADMINTON] Thailand's giant-killer Boonsak Ponsana toppled world No 1 Lin Dan to seal a semi-final place in the men's singles at the US$200,000 Singapore Open Super Series yesterday.
It turned out to be a memorable night for the brilliant Boonsak, who held his nerve to hand the Chinese a shock 21-17 7-21 23-21 defeat in the quarter-finals. It was Boonsak's maiden victory over Lin, the current world champion, in four meetings. The Thai next faces the hosts' Ronald Susilo, who beat his compatriot Lee Yen Hui Kendrick 21-13 16-21 21-10 in another match. The Thai world No 11 picked up five wins over Susilo in their previous seven encounters, with the Singaporean rival winning the latest match in the Malaysian Open in January. In the mixed doubles, Thais Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkam, the world No 3s, upset South Koreans Han Sang-hoon and Hwang Yu-mi 15-21 21-15 21-9 to set up a semi-final clash against Chinese world No 2s Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen. Both teams share a 3-3 record in their six encounters, with the Thai duo falling in the latest meeting - the quarter-finals of the China Open last year.
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