SS FINALS 2010 Day 1 – Thailand, Europe start 1 for 3

Thailand and Europe both had shaky starts to the first session at the Super Series Finals in Taipei today.  Boonsak Ponsana (pictured) and Denmark’s Boe/Mogensen broke the trends, though, with wins over Indonesian stars Taufik Hidayat and Kido/Setiawan respectively.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent live in Taipei.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Thailand started with a straight-game loss by Duang Anong Aroonkesorn / Kunchala Voravichitchaikul to Japan’s Mizuki Fujii / Reika Kakiiwa.  The Japanese pair will have their work cut out for them against trying to edge out one of China’s powerful pairs to emerge from the women’s doubles Group B.

The first of three all-China matches of the afternoon finished with Wang/Yu beating out Cheng/Zhao in three games, which had a rather unusual turning point when Cheng Shu was faulted and actually fell while serving at 10-9 in the second.  The umpire was actually still chuckling when play resumed after the interval but it was Wang/Yu who had the last laugh in the match, winning 21-14 in the third.

Salakjit Ponsana won her first game against Bae Youn Joo (pictured below) but it the Korean dealt better with the draught in the second game and then dominated the third.  Bae now heads into her next two matches with a much-needed cushion as she has not beaten a Chinese opponent since her shock defeat of Wang Yihan almost a year ago.

Thailand’s fortunes changed when Boonsak Ponsana got the better of Taufik Hidayat, staying consistent while the Indonesian great fell apart in the deciding game.  Boonsak won 21-18, 18-21, 21-7.  Boonsak, too, thus managed to maximize his chances of qualifying for the semi-finals as he has mixed results against both Du Pengyu and Chen Long this year.

European competitors had their own problems in the afternoon session.  Poland’s Robert Mateusiak / Nadiezda Zieba went down in two to Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun / Ha Jung Eun and Petya Nedelcheva was unable to mount much of a challenge against second seed Wang Yihan.

Europe’s brightest spot came near the end of the afternoon when world #1 Mathias Boe / Carsten Mogensen (pictured below) took the first game against Indonesia’s Markis Kido / Hendra Setiawan.  The Danes pretty much had their way against the Asian Games gold medallists in the first game, winning 21-12, but Kido/Setiawan proved much more troublesome in the second game, where they led 11-10 at the interval.  Boe/Mogensen kept up their attacking play, however, and their defense remained solid, such that they were able to open up an 18-14 lead when Markis Kido was unable to finish at the net.

The Indonesians came back, though, and erased the first match point when Hendra Setiawan made a resounding kill at the net and he followed that up with a soft touch finish to an even more thrilling rally to even things up again at 21-all.  The Danish pair were able to put it away 23-21, though, and thus avoided a deciding game.

“It’s always difficult playing against Markis and Hendra because they are very good at the first 3 shots of the rally,” said Mathias Boe after the match.  “We have to be very ready or else it’s difficult to control.  We did okay in the first game and a half but then we allowed them to come back.

“We can improve our game and we will need to be very ready against Fang and Lee.  They are one of the best pairs in the world and we sort of kicked off their run of luck in the summer when we were leading them 17-13 in our third game in the Singapore Open.  This time it will be very difficult because they are playing at home.

“We sort of feel at home here, too, though, because we won here in 2008.  It was one of our first major international titles.  There is a little more drift this time than last but we still feel good in the hall and we can definitely improve for our next matches.”

For complete results from Day 1 of the BWF Super Series Finals, CLICK HERE

Come stay with us for the Super Series Finals at the Chateau de Chine.  Located at the heart of Sinjhuang City, Chateau de Chine Hotel is created to convey the vibrant and everlasting sense of traditional beauty. Inspired by the Art Nouveau style, Chateau de Chine hotel infuses the finest elegance of French design with an authentic touch of oriental aesthetics.   If you are looking for quality accommodation during the event or anytime you are visiting Taipei, check out their website here.