Singapore Open: Frontrunners Fall
The bottom half of the mixed doubles draw in the KFF Singapore Badminton 2024 second round will not feature seeds after all four pairs dropped out on Wednesday.
· PREM KUMAR
Following the meek 21-4 21-15 defeat of seventh seeds Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet to Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the first match of the day, two-time champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai, seeded sixth, followed them out of the door. The Thais’ 17-21 21-11 17-21 loss is their second successive one to Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek.
“We had a lot more speed in our legs. Our level was just higher and we are also used to the difficult conditions,” said Piek, who overcame the same opponents in March’s German Open quarterfinals. “At the beginning we were maybe too predictable but we dominated the changes in pace and angles more as the match went on. That was the key.”
With their Paris 2024 Olympic Games spot secured, settling on a good rhythm in Singapore and Indonesia Open is the top priority for the Dutch tandem.