Thai shuttlers will be vying for a hat-trick of titles at the Thailand Open at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Mixed doubles stars Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai have a chance to make it back-to-back titles in the hometown event. Kunlavut Vitidsarn will be gunning for the men’s singles crown and the women’s doubles duo of Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard will be out to claim their second win of the year.
Top seeds Dechapol and Sapsiree defeated Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje of Denmark 21-10, 21-11 in the semi-finals of the BWF World Tour Super 500 event yesterday.
The world No.2 pair will battle it out against Kim Won-Ho and Jeong Na-Eun after the fifth-seeded Koreans defeated Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin of Taiwan 15-21, 21-15, 21-15.
Dechapol and Sapsiree claimed their first title of the year at the Malaysia Masters last Sunday.
Second seed Kunlavut battled back after losing the first game to defeat Lakshya Sen of India in a 13-21, 21-17, 21-13 thriller.
Fifth-ranked Kunlavut, who sealed the victory on his first match point, will take on Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong for the title.
Lee cruised past Toma Junior Popov of France 21-14, 21-16 in the other semi-final.
Women’s doubles sixth seeds Benyapa and Nuntakarn, winners of the Thailand Masters in February, sealed their place in the final with a 21-17, 21-7 victory over Baek Ha-Na and Lee So-Hee of South Korea.
Top seeds Kim So-Yeong and Kong Hee-Yong of South Korea denied an all-Thai final after they comprehensively defeated fourth seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-12, 21-12.
Top seed An Se-Young and third seed He Bingjiao will square off for the women’s singles crown.
South Korea’s An eased past Spanish fourth seed Carolina Marin, the 2012 champion, 21-16, 21-12 while China’s He defeated Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-13, 21-18.
In the men’s doubles semi-finals, third seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang of China defeated Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo of Indonesia 21-13, 21-19 to book their berth in the final.
They will play Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in the final after the Indonesians downed fifth seeds Choi Sol-Gyu and Kim Won-Ho of South Korea 22-20, 13-21, 21-16 in the second semi-final.
