Dechapol and Sapsiree off to a confident start at Thailand Open

The top-seeded Thai mixed doubles pair, fresh off their victory in the Malaysia Masters, faced a brief challenge from the European duo before advancing to the second round of the BWF World Tour Super 500 event, extending their winning streak to six matches.

"We are still adapting to the draught [from the air-conditioner] on the court, but we executed our game plan well and didn't give away easy points,” said Sapsiree, the former world No. 1 mixed doubles player.

Her partner Dechapol reacted: "Our recent victory has significantly boosted our confidence and validated the effectiveness of our practice. However, there are areas we need to improve, and we will focus on that to continue developing our game."

Dechapol Puavaranukroh retrieves a shot, watched by mixed doubles partner Sapsiree Taerattanachai.

In the women’s singles action, local players including world No. 11 Pornpawee Chochuwong and reigning SEA Games gold medalist Supanida Katethong had a successful outing as they secured their spots in the round of 16. Eighth-seeded Pornpawee comfortably defeated Pai Yu Po of Taiwan 21-16, 21-18. Meanwhile, Supanida Katethong faced a tougher challenge, but ultimately prevailed over three-time European Championships silver medalist Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in a three-game battle, winning 21-11, 11-21, 21-15.

In an impressive comeback, top seed and world No. 2 An Se Young from South Korea defeated Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark 17-21, 21-12, 21-16.

However, upcoming Thai star Pitchamon Opatniputh, the world junior No. 2, faced a tough challenge in three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain, losing 17-21, 13-21. Pitchamon had advanced through the qualifying rounds.

Benyapa Aimsaard, right, returns a shot while her sister Nuntakarn stays on guard.

In the women's doubles category, tournament fourth seeds and world No. 9 pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai secured a victory against the Taiwanese duo of Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun 21-19, 21-18.

Pornpawee Chochuwong pumps her fist after her first-round victory.

Meanwhile, Thailand Masters champions and sixth-seeded Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard were put to the test by Hsu Ya Ching and Lin Wan Ching of Taiwan but managed to advance to the next round with a hard-fought 18-21, 21-17, 21-14 win.

"At the beginning, we struggled to adapt to the court conditions, and our performance was sluggish. However, we managed to settle down in the second game and minimise our errors in the final game," explained Nuntakarn, the elder sister. "Our goal in this tournament is to avoid putting undue pressure on ourselves. Our aim is to give our maximum effort, be content with the result, whether it means exiting early or advancing to the later stages.”