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Published on July 19, 2007

Nungnadda, who is Thailand's biggest hope to lift the trophy after the unexpected first-round exit of top seed Napaporn Tongsalee, stunned fifth-seeded Hunag Lei of China 6-3 6-4 under an overcast sky at the Srichaphan Tennis Academy.

The teenage star said she had received some tips from former Thai No 1 Thanakorn Srichaphan on how to tackle the unrelenting Chinese.

"He told me to be really patient and wait for opportunities to attack. She has good serves and sends everything back," said Nungnadda, who next faces Lee Cho-won of South Korea.

"I will have to run for the balls a lot. But I know how to play her and will stick to my game plan," added the winner of two ITF trophies.

Varanya emerged as a surprise quarter-finalist, easily trouncing Lu Jia-jing of China 6-3 6-0 in the all-qualifier clash. She now faces a tough hurdle in the form of fourth-seeded Chen Yi of Taiwan.

Yi is the only seeded player left in the competition, as the other three have been eliminated. Yi herself had to struggle to get past local wild card Uthumporn Pudtra 6-4 7-6 (8-6).

Liang Chen of China and Ankita Bhambri of India were the other seeded victims, losing to qualifiers. The third-seeded Liang was shut out by Jessy Rompies of Indonesia 1-6 3-6, while No 8 Bhambri fell to Lee Cho-won of South Korea 6-1 3-6 6-4.

Uzbeki Vlada Ekshibarova, the conqueror of Napaporn, extended her winning streak to seven matches in two weeks, losing just three games to move past Keren Shlomo of Israel 6-1 6-2.