Day 1 was a quiet affair. The stadium was almost empty in the evening. Its monsoon season in Bangkok and its has been raining.
Top WS seed Zhou Mi had withdrawn. Not sure of reason. She was replaced by Pavita of Thailand. Wang Chen is now the top seed for WS.
There are two Yonex ES5pro stringing machines at the Yonex Stringing Booth. Yonex AS50 shuttlecocks are used in this tournament.
Unlike the Singapore Open, you could bring your own food and drinks into the stadium. Unfortunately there were lots of litter left behind by the spectators.
There was a better turnout on Day 2 but still the stadium was half empty. There was a fire somewhere in the stadium and you could see smoke.
Somebody's phone rang to the tune of 'Heal the World' by Michael Jackson. Its belonged to Salakjit Ponsana, sister of Boonsak. Very impressed with her grasp of mandarin when she chatted with Malaysia's Chew Choon Eng. Could not help eavesdropping since I was next to her. Chew has a 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old son.
Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng are staying at Pathumwan Princess Hotel instead of the 'official' hotel - Novotel. Lee Wan Wah is also staying there. The jerseys of Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng are imprinted with 'www.pioneersports.net'
The Thai players are mainly sponsored by Victor, Yonex, Gosen and Dunlop. The HK MD pairing of Leung/Lo are sponsored by Prince. They put up a very good fight against Malaysian pair Chan/Lim before losing in three games.
Saw the lovely Kunchala at the players section. There was also a kawaii japanese player with short hair. not sure of her name.
At the end of the match, the Thai players would thank the Thai umpire/service judge with the 'wai' greeting instead of shaking hands. Most, if not all, of the Thai boys sport crew cuts. Wonder if its was a specific requirement of their clubs/national squad.
Zhang Jiewen arrived in the evening to cheer for her husband Choong Tan Fook and partner who were up against thai players.
Who is Wang Rong of China? She made it through 3 qualifying round matches and the first round. She was in a Yonex outfit, not Lining.
too bad i will miss the matches on day 3 due to work commitments... i must say its a nice change to see new faces instead of the usual stars
A pic of Wang Rong.. ..this is her, taken during the 2005 S'pore Open. And was posted in one of the threads in that tourney..