Upbeat Thais eye South Korea’s scalp
Kingdom’s shuttlers in ‘great spirit’ ahead of today’s Sudirman Cup semi-finals in Gold Coast
>> Thailand hope for third time lucky as they take on South Korea in the semifinals of the Sudirman Cup at Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium in Gold Coast, Australia today.
The Koreans won on both occasions when the two teams met in the biennial tournament — 4-1 in the first round in 2005 and 3-1 in the semi-finals in 2013.
After already matching their best result in the mixed team championships by beating Denmark to reach the last four on Thursday, the Thai players looked relaxed during a training session yesterday before heading off to get some rest at their hotel.
Jongkolphan Kittitharakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, who won the decisive women’s doubles against the Danes, said the team were high on confidence since Thursday’s stunning performance.
“We studied how they [Denmark’s world No.2 and Rio Olympic silver medallists Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen] play a lot before the match,” said Jongkolphan. “We knew they are very experienced players but we managed to keep our concentration and focused on each point.
“The team are in great spirit right now. I believe we have a great chance against South Korea.”
Meanwhile Sapsiree admitted she felt under a lot of pressure before her opening mixed doubles match against Denmark.
“I definitely felt the pressure because I had to play the first match and we needed a good start. But after we won I felt much better, and was a lot more relaxed,” said Sapsiree, who teamed up with Dechapol Puavaranukroh to claim the first point for Thailand on Thursday.
“In the women’s doubles, I felt like I have nothing to lose and that eased off all the pressure. Maybe that’s why we played so well.
“The atmosphere in the team is really great right now. Personally I believe we can beat the Koreans. It all depends on how we play on the day. The most important thing is we need to keep our concentration during the match.”
Meanwhile Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand, admitted she was lost for words after the team’s stunning quarter-final win.
“Hats off to everyone in the team for reaching the semi-finals for the second time,” said Patama. “Now we’re guaranteed of at least a third place but at the moment we’re on such a high that we believe we can beat the Koreans.”
In the other semi-final today, defending champions and 10-time winners China take on Japan.
The Chinese swept past India 3-0 while Japan defeated Malaysia 3-1 in the quarter-finals yesterday.