Story by Jan Lin and Shaline Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Jolyn Ang and Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Thursday, 12 June, 2008 – The second day of the 2008 Singapore Badminton Open was bittersweet for Singapore’s Olympic-bound shuttlers Xing Aiying and Ronald Susilo. The former upset her higher-ranked opponent, while the latter fell tamely to Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand.
The highly anticipated first round showdown between Singapore’s number 1 shuttler Ronald Susilo and defending champion Boonsak Ponsana fell short of its pre-match hype. The world number 14 Thai took two straightforward games to silence the local favourite in 35 minutes.
The world number 27 Singaporean had actually started the game positively when he raced to an 11-8 lead in the first set. Ronald was exuding confidence in his technique and game plan, but the situation turned around right after the half-time break.
Returning from the half-time break, Boonsak’s sturdy and nimble footwork saw him even up the score 11-all. Once the Thai squared up, Ronald lost his composure.
The patriotic spectators were forced to sit through the remainder of the first set in a grimace as the Singaporean star unleashed a string of dreadful unforced errors to concede the first set 14-21.
Ronald unleashed his signature cross-smashes in the second set, which worked for a few points before the "Thai superman" swiftly adapted to Ronald’s new game plan. Boonsak went on to outwit Ronald with his tidy foot work and dominated the rest of the game.
Despite being backed by passionate support from the home crowd, Ronald's lacklustre performance persisted through to game point and he eventually surrendered 16-21 to Boonsak.
"When I was trailing in the first set, my coach told me to change my game plan to lift higher and further to the baseline, which worked," said the 27-year-old Boonsak at the post-match press conference.
The 2007 Singapore Open champion continued, "It was a tough first round for me to be playing against the local favourite. I don't think Ronald played well though, perhaps because he has been out for some time due to injury and his form has declined."
Ronald, however, claimed that he is injury-free and was in very good form at this tournament. At the post-match press conference, he said: "I have done a lot of preparation for this and I think my physical condition is very fit. I did not even feel tired after the match."
"I think I was not patient today and lost concentration, allowing Boonsak to win eight points in a row, which caused me to lose my momentum and I committed too many mistakes. To top it off, my smashes were not as effective today, while Boonsak's defence was solid.”
To exit from the first round at the 2008 Singapore Open is a first for Ronald. "I'm very disappointed to lose in the first round. This is the first time that I've lost in the first round at home. I hope to perform better in Indonesia Open next week and peak just in time for the Olympic Games in August."
The home crowd’s passionate support did eventually pay off when the Republic’s women’s singles shuttler, world number 37 Xing Aiying, outplayed world number 22 Judith Meulendijks from Netherlands for a straight sets 21-15, 23-21 win.
More pictures in the gallery.
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