Ratchanok faces tough Tai, mixed pair meet Chinese

Ratchanok faces tough Tai, mixed pair meet Chinese

Thailand's Sapsiree Taerattanachai, front, and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.
Thailand's Sapsiree Taerattanachai, front, and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.

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

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 province on Friday.

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 Saturday'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.

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