Minh is the No 2 seed for the match and Saensomboonsuk is No 5, though in world rankings the Vietnamese player is 14th, while Saensomboonsuk is 45 steps lower.

The support of the thousand of Vietnamese fans put pressure on Saensomboonsuk. He lost a lot of points as he could not move fast enough to save the volleys from Minh.

The results nearly always supported Minh, though he sometimes lost unexpected points. Saensomboonsuk nearly levelled the score at 17-15 in both sets, but the Vietnamese player came back for a victory in the 39th minute. In the third round match on Thursday, Minh defeated South Korean Kim Sa-rang 21-14, 21-6.

Kim could not create his own volleys as he spent all his time resisting attacks from the Vietnamese powerhouse. Not many of his volleys landed on Minh’s fields, as Minh built up a high wall over the net.

Minh’s next rival will be another Thai, Pakkawat Vilailak, who surprised crowds yesterday by beating No 4 seed Wei Ng of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-11 in the earlier match.

Also in the men’s singles event, third seed Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand defeated Chan Yun Lung from Hong Kong 21-4, 21-12.

Top player Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia found no challenge in beating No 6 Hong Kong’s Hu Yun 21-13, 21-19.

On the women’s side, No 3 Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand met with great resistance from No 7 seed Zhang Beiwen from Singapore. Ponsana led the first set 21-16 but ran into difficulties in the second set when Zhang came back to win 21-19.

The third set was a crowd-pleaser, where both sides showed off their technique and skills to grab points, but Ponsana took the advantage in the last minutes to win 21-19.

VietNamNet/Vietnam News