Two other Thai pairs reach semi-finals

Yvonne Bohwongprasert

Thailand's chances of clinching the mixed doubles crown at the JVC Asian Badminton Championships were given a huge boost yesterday at Nimibutr Gymnasium when Asian Games silver medallists Khunakorn Sudhisodhi and Saralee Thungthongkam disposed of Indonesians Tri Kusharjanto and Emma Ermawati in the semi-finals to give the Kingdom their first place in the finals.

The Thai top seeds won easily (11-7, 11-2) and will meet in the final the seventh-seeded Chinese pair of Zhang Jun and Gao Ling, who cruised past compatriots Wang Wei and Zhao Tingting 11-4, 11-3.

The Thais will have to play a very tactical game against the Chinese, who they have yet to beat, and will have to keep the left-handed Zhang on the back foot because of his exceptionally-fierce smashes.

Up against one of the finest mixed doubles pairs in the world, yesterday was the first time in three encounters that Khunakorn and Saralee had beaten Kusharjanto and Ermawati, the third-seeded pair.

Both sets of players took time to get the feel of each other's style of play, but it was the Thais who came up with the goods at the key moments of the game. Khunakorn managed to cover the back court to perfection to keep the Indonesians on their toes.

The points were neck and neck up until 3-3 in the first game, and then a flurry of beautifully-timed cross-court and drop shots by the Thais produced six consecutive points in their favour.

But when the Thais reached game point, Kusharjanto, the 2000 Sydney Olympic silver medallist, made a last-minute attempt with Ermawati to get back into contention by saving two game points until he sent a drop-shot out to give the Thais the game 11-7.

Instead of picking up the tempo in the second game, the Indonesians began in poor form, giving the Thais an easy 10-2 lead. Kusharjanto and Ermawati were dogged by numerous unforced errors, and at match point Saralee didn't have to do much when Ermawati hit an attempted smash into the net to seal the match 11-2 and book a finals berth for the Thais.

Khunakorn said that he didn't expect it to be that easy, and thanked the home crowd's support for contributing to their success.

``We are really happy to reach the finals, but the Indonesians were really not on top form today,'' said Khunakorn. ``At their best they can be a very dangerous pair. But our strategy to just control the shots and take our time worked wonders. As for the finals, we are confident of putting on a good performance.''

A disappointed Kusharjanto said that the Thais played at a much higher level and deserved to win.

In quarter-finals yesterday, the Thai women's doubles pair of Saralee and Sathinee Chankrachangwong reached the semi-finals by beating Taiwan's Chen Wan Ju and Cheng Shao Chieh 11-1, 11-4. They will now face Chinese duo Zhong Jiewen and Yang Wei, who crushed Indonesians Vita Marissa and Ermawati 11-2, 11-6.

In the men's doubles, Asian Games silver medallists Promote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Panvisvas marched on with an impressive win over Singapore's Patrick Lau Kim Pong and Hendri Kurniawan Suputra 15-7, 15-8.

The third-seeded Thai veterans will today meet experienced Indonesian pair Chandra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto, who powered their way past South Koreans Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yong Sung 15-12, 15-4.

The finals of the mixed doubles and other semi-finals start at 2pm today at Nimibutr Gymnasium.