Boonsak Ponsana's spell at the SCG World Grand Prix Thailand Open was over following his nail-biting quarter-final defeat to Chinese rising star Chen Yu at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium yesterday.

The 2,000 strong spectators were served up a treat by the local hero, the conqueror of world No-1 Lee Chong-wei. And after 48 minutes and many long rallies, the Thai's resistance broke on match point, allowing the red-hot Chinese to walk away with a 22-20 22-20 victory.

Despite the departure of the Kingdom's most popular shuttler, local fans still have the mixed doubles duo of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam and the women's doubles pair of Saralee and Satinee Chankrajangwong to root for today. The matches will be live on UBC SuperSport Action from 1pm onwards.

Saralee teamed up with Sudket to dismiss South Koreans Jeon Jun-bum and Kim Min-jung 22-20 21-15 in the mixed doubles quarter-finals before pairing up with Satinee to beat Chien Yu-chin and Cheng Wen-hsing of Taiwan 17-21 21-19 23-21 in the women's doubles quarter-finals.

Boonsak was staring at defeat at 20-22 and 6-12 in the second game but that did not stop the enthusiasm of his supporters, whose decibel level increased as the match progressed. The Thai managed a mini-comeback with his unrelenting smashes and super defence game to force Chen, who knocked out the Malaysian top seed in round two, into errors.

The Thai had a couple of game points at 20-18 but suffered a lapse including a crucial smash on his first chance to close out the game.

"I let two chances slip through my fingers because I lost concentration. The situation was tough for me. And it was a bit unlucky to slip up on match point,'' said Boonsak, who paid compliments to his opponent.

"He was faster today and was very focused in the match. Who knows, he could win this tournament,'' added the world No-10, who failed to repeat the glory of 2004, when he was crowned champion.

"The field was a lot tougher than last year, where I reached the semifinal. I already did my best and was not disappointed, especially when I had such a tremendous support from the fans."

In the other men's singles match, former world No-1 Chinese Chen Hong beat compatriot Bao Chunlai 15-21 21-16 21-14. Another mainlander, Chen Jin, downed South Korean Park Sung-hwan 21-13 21-16. Defending champion Muhd Hafiz Hashim from Malaysia beat compatriot Kay Bin Yeoh 21-11 16-21 21-14.

Sudket and Saralee booked the semifinal spot for the second consecutive year. They played brilliantly at the net and smashed aggressively to stop the surprise run of the South Korean rivals.

"We didn't play well in the first game and just made easy mistakes. But we took a big lead in the second game, which made it easier for us to finish off the match,'' said Sudket, who together with Saralee are chasing their second title this year after their win in the Philippines Open.

But a Herculean task awaits the Thais in today's semifinal, when they have to confront world No-3 and top seeds South Korean Lee Jae-jin and Lee Hyo-jung. The Korean pairing toppled Denmark's Lars Paaske and Helle Nielsen 21-14 21-17.

Sudket and Saralee trail their opponents 2-1 in head-to-head meetings. Their latest match, in Taiwan this year, ended in favour of the South Koreans.

"We must take charge at the net and force them to reply with easy shots so that Sudket can attack,'' said Saralee, who will meet Denmark's Lena Frier Kristiansen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl in the women's doubles semifinals.

In the women's singles quarter-final, Hwang Hye-youn from South Korea dethroned Chinese second-seeded Xie Xingfang 10-21 21-16 21-19 in a match that lasted 61 minutes.

Title holder Yao Jie of the Netherlands rallied to move past unfancied Yoshimi Hataya of Japan 20-22 21-10 21-15. She was joined by fifth-seeded countrywoman Zhu Lin, who was extended to three games before packing off Firdasari Adriyanti from Indonesia 17-21 21-13 21-15.

In the fight between unseeded Japanese women, Eriko Hirose spent an hour on court to beat Ai Goto 18-21 21-16 21-10.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam,

Somporn Suphop

The Nation