Thailand had everything going for them in Nanning – in the ongoing 16th edition of the Sudirman Cup, the world mixed team championships and in the BWF AGM – on Thursday.
First Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul polled 176 votes to 88 against China's Zhang Jun to be elected BWF deputy president. Khunying is also the president of the Badminton Asociation of Thailand while Zhang Jun holds the same post with the Chinese Badminton Association.
Later in the evening the Thailand team dethroned defending champions South Korea in the Sudirman Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 win. This is only the third time in the history of the Sudirman Cup that Thailand has reached the last four.
In the Sudirman Cup quarter-finals, Thailand got their first point through their mixed doubles pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai who snatched a 21-18, 21-18 win over Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yujung .
Thailand were 2-0 up when Kantaphon Wangcharoen outplayed Heo Hwang-hee 21-17, 21-17 in the men's singles.
The Koreans reduced the deficit by winning the men's doubles. Kang Min-hyuk-Kim Won-ho threw the team a lifeline with a come-from-behind 19-21, 21-17, 21-14 win over Tinn Isriyanet-Kittinupong Kedren.
However, Thailand's former world champion and world No 1 Ratchanok Intanon clinched the winning point with a 21-15, 21-17 win over Korea's 17-year-old teen sensation An se-young in a 53-minute match.
Incidentally, Thailand will play 10-time winners China in the semi-finals on Saturday. The host defeated Denmark also by a 3-1 margin by winning the mixed doubles (Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong), the men's doubles (Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen) and the women's singles (Chen Yufei).
The only defeat was in the men's singles when reigning Olympics champion Chen Long lost to Viktor Axelsen.
