LAO INT’L 2010 – End of title drought for Asuncion siblings

Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion of the Philippines won the mixed doubles event of the Lao International Challenge 2010 held at the National Sports Complex in Vientiane, Laos, winning their first international tournament in a long time.

By Raphael Sachetat. Photos : Vilaxay Sayasithsena (live from Vientiane)

The Asuncion siblings beat Thailand’s Siriwat Matayanumati and Pattaraporn Piyapintu of Thailand, 17-21, 21-15, 21-16, in the final, after beating another couple of Thai pairs along the way.

“This was really unexpected for us.  We haven’t joined tournaments for quite awhile. We just tried to enjoy every time we were on court and i guess that attitude plus the desire to still win helped us get through the tough times in between the matches,” Kennie told The Manila Times.

“We’re simply happy to have won all our matches. We just stayed focus on court and stayed attentive on shots that made us score. This one’s for all of us Pinoy badminton players,” said Kennevic for his part.

The men’s singles event was quite strong for an International Challenge, with Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia coming on top of a fierce challenge, with players such as Ashton Chen from Singapore and top seed Tan Chun Seang from Malaysia.  Sugiarto beat Tan in three games in the semi-final before edging Russia’s Pukhov in the final while Chen had to withdraw from his semi-final against the Russian.

In the absence of her compatriot Ratchanok Intanon – already gone for the Asian Games – Nitchaon Jindapol took the title in the women’s singles, adding a name to the already strong Thailand women’s singles contingent amongst the youngsters.

Final results

MS : Tommy Sugiarto (INA) beat Stanislav Pukhov (RUS): 21-19, 21-13
WS: Nitchaon Jindapol (THA) beat Okuhara Nozomi (JPN): 21-16, 21-17
MD: Chalardchaleam Patipat /Nipitphon Puangpuapech (THA) beat Bao Duc Duong /  Cao Hieu Pham (VIE): 21-15, 21-9
WD: Eto Rie / Wakita Yu (JPN) beat Pernanart Nandatheero / Prangnuch Lerthiran (THA): 21-18, 21-8
Mx: Kennevic Asuncion / Kennie Asuncion (PHI) beat Siriwat Matayanumati / Pattaporn Jindapol (THA): 21-10, 21-17