Thai badminton players hungry for gold in North America

PHUKET: In last week’s 2013 US Open Badminton Championships contested in Los Angeles, California, Thai badminton player Sapsiri “Popo” Taerattanachai beat Japanese Yuka Kasunose for the event’s women’s singles title.

It was the first time Popo, ranked 15th in the world, met the Japanese player ranked at 173rd. Popo’s victory in two sets secured a prize of US$9,000 USD (about 270,000 baht) from the $120,000 of total prize money in the Grand Prix tournament.

Sapsiri dominated the game form the very beginning and beat Yuka 21 to 12 in the first set, while the second set ended after just 37 minutes with a score of 21-13 for Sapsiri.

After the victory in Los Angeles, Sapsiri Taerattanachai will competing straight away in another tournament – the 2013 YONEX Canada Open at the Richmond Olympic Oval, which began on July 16 and will last until Sunday, July 21.

This event has several Thai players competing – among them Sappanyu Avihingsanon, Khosit Petpradab, Prinyawat Thongnuam and Nitchaon Jindapon.

A match between Prinyawat Thongnuam and wold number one Japanese player Kazumasa Sakai, looks particularly interesting.

For more information, check the tournament’s website (click here).