Thai shuttler meets Athens bronze medallist in second round
Tor Chittinand
Boonsak Ponsana, Thailand's top hope in badminton, faces an uphill task in his bid for an Olympic medal.
Salakjit Ponsana and mixed doubles pair Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam were also handed tough assignments when the draw for the Beijing tournament was made yesterday.
In the men's singles, Boonsak got a bye in the first round but will then take on Athens Games bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the second round or round of last 32.
Kuncoro, the world's number five and Indonesia's top-ranked player, defeated Boonsak in the third-place play-off at the 2004 Olympics.
If Boonsak, ranked 15th in the world, gets past Kuncoro, he could meet world number two Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the quarter-finals. Lee will face Singapore's number one Ronald Susilo in the last 32 round.
"It is a tough draw for me," said Boonsak.
"I could not do anything with the draw. But all players are top class and sooner or later I have to face a tough opponent."
His younger sister, world number 29 Salakjit, has an even tougher assignment. She enjoys a bye in the first round but will then meet China's world number seven Zhang Ning who is second seed in Beijing.
In the mixed doubles, world number eight pair Sudket and Saralee will meet Canada's Mike Beres and Valerie Loker in the first round or round of 16.
In the second round, they could face world number one Liliyana Natsir and Nova Widianto of Indonesia.
Despite the tough draw, Charoen Wattanasin, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT), is still optimistic about his players' chances.
"I am quite pleased with the draw because they will not face the world number one players in the first round," he said.
"Boonsak has a good chance of reaching the later stage because he will not meet world number one Lin Dan of China until the final."
Charoen said although Boonsak would meet Kuncoro in the second round the Thai had beaten the Indonesian on several occasions.
He believed that Sudket and Saralee had a chance to win a medal as Natsir and Widianto would face a Korean pair in the first round.
As for Salakjit, Charoen said she could beat Zhang because the Chinese shuttler had just got married and there were doubts about her fitness.
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Tor Chittinand
Boonsak Ponsana, Thailand's top hope in badminton, faces an uphill task in his bid for an Olympic medal.
Salakjit Ponsana and mixed doubles pair Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam were also handed tough assignments when the draw for the Beijing tournament was made yesterday.
In the men's singles, Boonsak got a bye in the first round but will then take on Athens Games bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the second round or round of last 32.
Kuncoro, the world's number five and Indonesia's top-ranked player, defeated Boonsak in the third-place play-off at the 2004 Olympics.
If Boonsak, ranked 15th in the world, gets past Kuncoro, he could meet world number two Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the quarter-finals. Lee will face Singapore's number one Ronald Susilo in the last 32 round.
"It is a tough draw for me," said Boonsak.
"I could not do anything with the draw. But all players are top class and sooner or later I have to face a tough opponent."
His younger sister, world number 29 Salakjit, has an even tougher assignment. She enjoys a bye in the first round but will then meet China's world number seven Zhang Ning who is second seed in Beijing.
In the mixed doubles, world number eight pair Sudket and Saralee will meet Canada's Mike Beres and Valerie Loker in the first round or round of 16.
In the second round, they could face world number one Liliyana Natsir and Nova Widianto of Indonesia.
Despite the tough draw, Charoen Wattanasin, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT), is still optimistic about his players' chances.
"I am quite pleased with the draw because they will not face the world number one players in the first round," he said.
"Boonsak has a good chance of reaching the later stage because he will not meet world number one Lin Dan of China until the final."
Charoen said although Boonsak would meet Kuncoro in the second round the Thai had beaten the Indonesian on several occasions.
He believed that Sudket and Saralee had a chance to win a medal as Natsir and Widianto would face a Korean pair in the first round.
As for Salakjit, Charoen said she could beat Zhang because the Chinese shuttler had just got married and there were doubts about her fitness.
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