Ratchapol, one of the pre-tournament title favourites, was on the receiving end at the start of the match when Chatchawal unexpectedly raced into a 2-0 lead.

Things were looking bad for Ratchapol in the third frame, but he started clicking just in the nick of time to pinch the frame and narrow the margin.

The win in the third frame helped Ratchapol kick-start an impressive recovery as he first levelled the frame score and then rattled off breaks of 70 and 122 - the highest of the tournament so far - to book a berth in the last 16, where he faces former Asian champion and Thailand No 2 Anan Terananon tomorrow.

Hong Kong's Fung Kwok Wai fought a marathon battle with former world amateur champion Sakchai earlier in the day before recording a 4-2 victory.

Sakchai won the first frame on the black, but then Fung slowly started gaining control of the game and a carefully constructed break of 71 in the second helped him draw level.

The Hong Kong cueist went 3-1 up, but Sakchai succeeded in narrowing the gap, mostly through splendid safety display.

However, Sakchai was unable to apply the brakes to check Fung's intermittent scoring runs in the sixth as the Thai veteran squandered a 49-0 lead to concede the match.

Fung is now set to challenge the talented Thepchaiya Un-nooh - who represents Thailand at the 2007 Asian Championship in Pakistan next month - in the last 16 today at 1pm at the same venue.

India's Manan Chandra took a cue from two other wildcards and moved into the next round, scoring a 4-2 win over qualifier Vorawit Suriyasriwan.

Manan's next opponent tomorrow evening will be Atthasit Mahitthi, the man the Indian defeated in Jordan last year to claim third place in the world amateur championship.