Boonsak falls at final hurdle
By Kitinan Sanguansak
daily Xpress
Published on June 30, 2008
Boonsak Ponsana had to be content with second best for the second year running after losing out in a three-set thriller to world No 1 Lin Dan of China in the men's singles final of the SCG Thailand Open Badminton Championships.
Having played second fiddle to China's Chen Hong in last year's final, the 26-year-old was consigned to the runner-up spot again after going down 21-17 15-21 13-21. At the teeming Nimibutr Indoor stadium, it looked as though Boonsak might be able to turn the tables on Lin, against whom he had a record of five losses with a lone win. However, Lin proved too strong to coast to a predictable outcome. He walked away with US$ 9,000. Boonsak said he was too tired to sustain the momentum after a strong start. "I was unable to match Lin's physical strength. I started feeling tired in the middle of the second game and he then took control of the play. It might have been different had I been in better physical condition," Boonsak said. Chinese second seed Xie Zhong Bo and Zhang Ya Wen dethroned defending champions and their compatriots He Han Bin and Yu Yang in a thrilling 23-25 21-10 23-21 victory in the mixed doubles. Top seed Xie Xing Fang, restored the order in the women's singles by ousting second seed Lu Lan 26-24 21-7. Cai Yun and Fu Hai Feng and Yang Wei and Zhang Jie Wen extended China's dominance following their successes in the men's and women's doubles sections respectively.
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