Paris: Thai badminton stars continued their impressive start at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, with the men’s doubles and mixed doubles pairs winning their second group matches on Sunday to guarantee their places in the quarter-finals.
Men’s doubles players Supak Jomkoh and Kittinupong Kedren were at their best again as they overwhelmed Ondrej Kral and Adam Mendrek of the Czech Republic 21-10, 21-13 in Group B at Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris.
Mixed doubles world No.6 pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai also bagged their second win in Group B, defeating Koceila Mammeri and Tanina Violette Memmari of Algeria 21-14, 21-9.
Supak and Kittinupong will face Kang Min-Hyuk and Seo Seung-Jae of South Korea in their final match on Tuesday to decide the group winners.
Dechapol and Sapsiree were due to play their last group match against Seo and Chae Yu-Jung of South Korea last night (Thai time).
Star shuttler Ratchanok Intanon will begin her Paris Olympics campaign on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, who is competing in her fourth Olympics, will play Lianne Tan of Belgium in her first match of Group E.
Also in the same group is Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, who defeated Tan in her opening match 21-15, 21-14 on Sunday.
Supanida Katethong will be looking to secure her place in the knockout round when she takes on Lo Sin Yan of Hong Kong in her second Group D match.
Women’s doubles players Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai will also seek their second Group D win but face a tough assignment against Baek Ha-Na and Lee So-Hee of South Korea.
Meanwhile, skateboarder Vareeraya Sukasem finished 17th in the preliminary round with 200.75 points in the women’s street event on Sunday.
Making her Olympic debut at the age of 12, Vareeraya put on a brave performance in front of a packed Place de La Concorde but was not able to secure her spot in the final.
Vareeraya, nicknamed ST, is Thai-land’s youngest-ever Olympian.
Vareeraya was chosen to be the country’s flag bearer alongside sprint star Puripol Boonson during the opening ceremony along the River Seine on Friday.
Japan’s 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa won the gold medal.
Fellow Japanese Liz Akama took silver with Brazilian Rayssa Leal collecting bronze.
Judoka Masayuki Terada lost to Manuel Lombardo 1-0 in the round of 16 of the men’s 73kg event on Monday.
The Thai-Japanese athlete won his round of 32 clash with Philippe Abel Metellus of Haiti 11-0 earlier in the day.
Table tennis player Suthasini Sawettabut also bowed out in the round of 64 of the women’s singles event after losing to her Polish opponent Natalia Bajor 4-3 on Monday.
Jutamas faces Moroccon
Boxer Jutamas Jitpong will take on Widad Bertal of Morocco in the round of 16 of the women’s 54kg division on Tuesday.
Jutamas was the only Thai boxer who won her first round bout on Saturday as Weerapon Jongjoho and Thananya Somnuek were both beaten by their opponents.
Thitisan Panmot, who received a first-round bye, will also begin his challenge in the men’s 51kg division with a last-16 round bout against David de Pina of Cabo Verde.
Also on Tuesday, swimmer Dulyawat Kaewsriyong will compete in the men’s 100m freestyle heats.
Daley dethroned
Britain’s Tom Daley was dethroned as Olympic champion on Monday but took silver with partner Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform behind China’s Lian Junjie and Yang Hao.
It was a fifth medal in five Olympics for 30-year-old Daley, who won gold with Matty Lee in the same event at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Games three years ago.
Lian and Yang, who have won at the last three world championships, established their dominance with their first dive and never looked like giving up the lead.
They finished with a score of 490.35, ahead of Daley and Williams on 463.44, and Canada’s Rylan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray on 422.13.
Daley and Williams were locked in a battle for second with the Canadian pair but pulled away over the second half of the competition.
Daley made his Olympic debut as a 14-year-old at Beijing 2008. He was one of Britain’s flag bearers at Paris 2024 along with rower Helen Glover.
Meanwhile South Korea’s Ban Hyo-Jin won the women’s 10 metre air rifle gold on Monday while China’s Huang Yuting claimed the silver and Switzerland’s Audrey Gogniat took bronze.
Ban, 16, topped Sunday’s qualification with an Olympic record total but her late wobble allowed Huang, 17, to draw level at 251.8, forcing a shoot-off between the teenagers.
Ban fired 10.4 to clinch the gold ahead of Huang, who shot 10.3.
The silver is Huang’s second medal of the Games, having combined with Sheng Lihao to win the mixed team gold on Saturday.
