Thai duo top the world

Sudket and Saralee, who were previously ranked second, took top spot after former first-ranked pair, Nova Widianto and Lylyana Natsir of Indonesia, suffered an early exit at the Indonesia Open Super Series last week. The Thai duo reached the second round.

"We can't describe our feeling as this could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience since we don't know how long we can keep this ranking," said Saralee, who is carrying a nagging back injury.

The duo will receive a special bonus of Bt320,000 from Siam Cement Group (SCG), the main sponsor of the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT), if they retain the No1 position until the first week of June. Further bonuses are in the pipeline if they can keep their ranking longer.

In the men's singles, local ace Boonsak Ponsana, who recently captured the Singapore Open Super Series title, is ranked eighth.

Apart from the whopping Bt1.2 million bonus from SCG for becoming the first Thai champion in Singapore, Boonsak will also receive an extra Bt40,000 plus per month if he can maintain or improve his new ranking.

The BAT's president Chareon Wattanasin said he was really thrilled with the performance of Thai players this season.

"Actually, we (BAT) used to have a world No 1 pair in the men's doubles a long time ago and I also used to be the top player in the men's singles. However, this is the first time in the mixed doubles and we are very happy," he said.

"Our players in all categories have clearly improved this season. The main reason behind our achievement is the hard work put in by all the coaches. I set them the tasks and they have really made a good job of them," he added.