INDONESIA GPG 2010 QF – Thai beats Tai in wunderkind duel

15-year-old sensation Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand beat 16-year-old Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan to reach the semi-finals of the Indonesia Grand Prix Gold in Samarinda today.

Each of the two girls created a minor sensation last year.  Tai Tzu Ying, at fifteen, was runner-up in the 2009 Asian Junior Championships while just a few months later, Ratchanok Intanon took the World Junior title at just 14.   Ratchanok, of course repeated the feat in Guadalajara this past April but it was Tai who scored on an even bigger stage, reaching the final of the Singapore Open Super Series.

Today in the city of Samarinda on Indonesian Borneo, not a week after Ratchanok took her first Grand Prix title, the two youngsters faced off in a Grand Prix Gold quarter-final and it was the younger prodigy who came out on top, winning two games of 21-18.

Ratchanok was denied the chance to face China’s Zhou Hui, her opponent in last week’s final in Ho Chi Minh City.  Instead, Zhou was beaten today by Maria Febe Kusmastuti who, interestingly enough, was the Thai’s toughest opponent on the road to her first ever international title, the Vietnam International Challenge last year.  With a home crowd to contend with, Ratchanok has her work cut out for her if she wishes to do one better than last week and become the youngest ever Grand Prix Gold champion.

Indonesia also saw the last of its very interesting scratch doubles combinations fall.  The now semi-regular partnership of Candra Wijaya and Luluk Hadiyanto had already fallen in the first round but the quarter-finals saw last week’s Vietnam Open champions Ahsan/Septano beat the pairing of 1997 and 2007 World Champions Sigit Budiarto  / Markis Kido.  Shortly thereafter, Chinese Taipei’s Liao/Wu beat legends Flandy Limpele / Hendra Aprida Gunawan by the impossibly close scores of 21-23, 22-20, 21-19.

In mixed doubles, legends Tri Kusharjanto / Minarti Timur ceded a walkover to Fran Kurniawan / Pia Zebediah Bernadet and one more veteran pairing must fall as Markis Kido / Lita Nurlita are to take on Vita Marissa / Hendra Aprida Gunawan shortly.

For complete quarter-final results from the 2010 Indonesia Grand Prix Gold, CLICK HERE