Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai’s wait for a gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships will continue after the mixed doubles third seeds fell in the opening round yesterday.
Their conquerors were Japanese youngsters Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito, who battled the world No.4s for 55 minutes before prevailing 12-21 21-19 21-15.
Midorikawa/Saito, both 22 and ranked 26th in the world, are now through to the second round on tournament debut. While this is their first win over a top five tandem, they have beaten accomplished pairs like Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie, Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing and Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue over the last 12 months.
For Puavaranukroh/Taerattanachai, who skipped last year’s edition, the silver medal they won in 2017 remains their best finish at the continental championships. They also have a bronze from 2019.
Three other seeded mixed pairs faltered as well at the Al Nasr Club – No.5 Tan/Lai, No.6 Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping and No.7 Kim Won Ho/Jeong Na Eun.
Players in the remaining four disciplines, including all five top seeds – Jonatan Christie, Akane Yamaguchi, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan and Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong – will see action today at the first of five Asia Championships to be hosted by the Emirati city of Dubai.
→ Results (Day 1)
→ Order of play (Day 2)
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