Brilliant Thai pair eyes on All England glory
Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai have their eyes firmly fixed on the All England mixed doubles title as they will take on Preveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti of Indonesia in today’s final showdown.
The in-form Thai duo put up a gutsy fight, rallying from 16-18 behind in the decider to beat Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yujung of South Korea 21-18 17-21 21-19 in the Saturday's semi-final n 83 minutes.
They stand a shot at making history. With a win on Sunday, both will become the first Thai players to triumph at the All England tournament.
“Overall, the side that created better opportunities took points,” said Sapsiree in search for her best career title this week. “We were too defensive in the second game and lost it.”
Chonburi-born Dechapol who has won alongside Sapsiree three times in the BWF Word Tour last year said: “We took turned winning the points. We had to take charge at the net more in the third game to break their momentum.”
The last Thai to come closet at winning the tournament was Ratchanok Intanon when she reached the final in 2017 only to lose to Tai Tsu Ying of Taiwan in straight games. Both Ratchanok and Pornpawee Chorchuwong were stopped in the women’s singles quarter-finals on Friday.
“We will maximize all our efforts in the final. There’s nothing to lose. We will appreciate it no matter what happens,” Sapsiree said.
