Ratchanok faces tough Tai, mixed pair meet Chinese

Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon and mixed doubles duo Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh face tough opponents in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open today.

World No.8 Ratchanok defeated Denmark’s Line Christophersen 21-8, 21-8 in the women’s singles quarter-finals at Muang Thong Thani’s Impact Arena in Nonthaburi yesterday.

In the semi-finals, the Thai will take on top seed Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan who defeated Chinese eighth seed He Bingjiao 21-10, 14-21, 21-18 in a seesaw quarter-final match.

Dechapol and Sapsiree had few problems in their 21-15, 21-8 quarter-final victory over Japan’s Kyohei Yamashita and Naru Shinoya.

They will meet Olympic champions Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongpiang for a place in the final.

The Chinese finished off Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran 21-16, 21-15 in the last eight.

“My overall performance has boosted my confidence,” Ratchanok said. “Tai is strong and good so I will have to play with patience.”

The Taiwanese leads the Thai 16-14 in their head-to-head meetings.

Dechapol said: “We will face a very strong pair in the semi-finals so we have to be well-prepared.”

In today’s other women’s singles semi-final, PV Sindhu of India will be up against Olympic champion Chen Yufei from China.

In the quarter-finals, sixth seed Sindhu stunned world No.1 Akane Yamaguchi from Japan 21-15, 20-22, 21-13, while Chen also needed three games to beat Canada’s Michelle Li 21-14, 2-22, 21-17. Tickets are available at Thai Ticket Major outlets or www.thaiticketmajor.com.