Thailand's mixed doubles top seeds Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh have made it through to Sunday’s final of the Thailand Open badminton tournament after a gruelling three-set match.
But local favourite Ratchanok Intanon lost her bid to advance, as Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan prevailed 10-21, 21-13, 21-19 in the women’s singles semi-final at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi on Saturday.
The victory sets up a final showdown between Tai and third seed Chen Yu Fei of China, who defeated Pusarla V Sindhi of India in the other semi-final.
The Ratchanok-Tai rivalry is one of the fiercest in the sport, with the Taiwanese now leading her Thai counterpart 17-14 in their head-to-head meetings.
Sapsiree and Dechapol outlasted Olympic champions Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongpiang of China 16-21, 21-12, 21-16.
They will face the second-seeded Chinese pair of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong, who defeated Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan in three sets in the day’s first match.