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Published on July 8, 2007

Widely known as Super "Man" in Thailand, Boonsak moved a step closer to winning his second crown in the Thailand Open and also his second major title this year following a scintillating 19-21 21-18 21-13 comeback against world No 4 Chen Jin from China yesterday.

Boonsak, the 2004 Thailand Open champion and who took the Singapore Open Super Series earlier this year, started aggressively and hardly allowed Chen to settle down, using his terrific cross-court smashes to devastating effect. However, Chen's wide repertoire of strokes and precision worked well and he edged the Thai in the opener 21-19.

Despite dropping the first game Boonsak came back much stronger in the second to take the hard-fought game 21-18. The Thai sensation continued his remarkable run in the third game, overcoming the 2007 Swiss Open Super Series champion with an excellent performance of accuracy and court craft to win the decider 21-13, and a place in the final. Yesterday's win improved his head-to-head record with Chen to 3-3.

"Today I maintained more concentration to avoid making any unforced errors. With the large crowd cheering me on, I admit that I was playing without much confidence and that's why I lost the first game," Boonsak said. In today's final clash, Boonsak takes on world No 2 Chen Hong, who tamed Hong Kong's Ng Wei 21-18 21-9 in the other semi-final yesterday.

"Against Chen Hong in the final, I will try to give all what I have. Chen is very good in attacking, but his defence is something else. I will play an attacking game against him. It will be the last hurdle I have to clear and I think I have a chance to beat him," Boonsak said.

Meanwhile, the Thai mixed pair of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam, though backed by the partisan crowd shouting "Come on, Thailand", seemed to be weighed down by all the expectations and surrendered their semi-final match to He Hanbin and Yu Yang from China in three dramatic games.  The Thai top seeds, seeking to win the title for the first time on home soil, came close to taking the match after they bagged several crucial points to jump to a 20-18 lead in the tie-breaker.  They needed only one last point to wrap up the see-saw battle.  However, the duo saw their golden chance slip through their fingers. He and Yu showed  brilliant form  to win the encounter 21-18 18-21 23-21.

The Chinese pair today go up against Koreans Han Sung-hoon and Hwang Yu-mi.

Preechachan  Wiriyanupappong

The Nation