Jongkolphan, Rawinda beaten at worlds
>> NANJING: Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai crashed out of the badminton world championships at Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre yesterday.
The seventh seeded pair, the last remaining Thai players in the tournament, were beaten by No.11 seeds Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara of Japan 21-12, 22-20.
In the semi-finals, the Japanese duo will face Indonesian fifth seeds, Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu, who defeated the top-seeded pair, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China, 23-21, 23-21.
“It still hasn’t sunk in that we’ve won a medal, but it’s a weight off my shoulders,” Nagahara said.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Carolina Marin stormed her way into the women’s singles semi-finals with a devastating victory over India’s Saina Nehwal.
The 25-year-old Spaniard and seventh seed is chasing a third world crown and on this ominous form she looks like she could well get it.
Marin plays China’s He Bingjiao in the last four after the sixth seed stunned world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan.
Marin destroyed 10th-seeded Nehwal, who cut a demoralised figure by the end of this 21-6, 21-11 mauling.
“The pace she is playing at is quite tremendous, she was very fast,” said Nehwal, 28, who eliminated Thai fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon, the 2013 champion, in the last-16 round on Thursday.
The strongly fancied Tai tasted just a second defeat in 35 matches, a run which brought five titles and cemented her status as the woman to beat in Nanjing.
But the 24-year-old was sloppy at times against He, making a series of unforced errors, particularly at the net, going out of the tournament over three unpredictable games.
China’s He emerged after just under an hour to win 21-18, 7-21, 21-13.