China sure to secure three gold medals in Thailand Grand Prix

(BEIJING, June 29) -- Thirteen Chinese shuttlers put on vintage performances in the SCG Thailand Grand Prix Gold 2008 semifinals on June 28 in Bangkok to advance to Sunday's finals, securing three gold medals for China in three all-Chinese matches.

The Chinese are expected to dominate, as they have sent most of their elite players and many world top ten players are absent. Men's Singles world No.1 Lin Dan of China entered the final by beating Indonesia's Alamsyah Yunus 21-16, 21-18 in 41 minutes in the semifinal. He has conceded only one game so far. His opponent in the final will be the second-seeded local favorite, Boonsak Ponsana, who is regarded as the best shuttler in Thailand. Twenty-six-year-old Ponsana ranks 14th in the world; his most recognized achievement was fourth place in the 2004 Athens Olympics. The two men met in the Thomas and Uber Cup 2008 in May, when Lin won 2-0.

The Women's Singles final is likely to be more exciting, as world No. 1 Xie Xingfang and world No. 3 Lu Lan of China will have a head-to-head confrontation. Xie easily overcame the challenge from unseeded Singaporean Xing Aiying in two straight games. Lu's performance was even more remarkable, as she knocked out third seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong 2-0 in just 27 minutes. Winning the final will be more important for Lu since she is competing with world No. 2 Zhu Lin and No. 5 Zhang Ning for the last two spots in the Beijing Olympics. The 21-year old has lost three Super Series finals this year, and Sunday's final will be her last chance to grab a major trophy before the Olympic Games.

The Men's Doubles final will be a Chinese rendezvous, as the No. 1-seeded team of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng and Guo Zhendong and Xie Zhongbo crushed their respective opponents 2-0. In world the ranking, Cai and Fu are six places higher than their compatriots, but the match is bound to be a hard fight because of the familiarity between the two pairs.

The only match decided by three games on Saturday was the Women's Doubles semifinal between world No. 1 Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen of China and world No. 4 Chien Yu Chin and Cheng Wen Hsing of Chinese Taipei. Outscored in smash and net points, Yang and Zhang struggled in the first two games, wining the first game 21-19 while losing 22-24 in the second. In the last game the top seeds re-gained their authority, blowing out their opponents by eight points. In the final Yang and Zhang will face fourth seeds Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty of Malaysia, who comfortably defeated fifth seeds Jiang Yanmei and Li Yujia of Singapore 21-14 and 21-14.

The Mixed Doubles final will be the third all-China final on Sunday. Top seeds He Hanbin and Yu Yang held off strong offense from third seeds Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam of Thailand, who were inspired by the boisterous home crowd, winning the match 21-14, 21-18. Their opponents in the final, Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen, had a relatively easier encounter with Malaysian pair Lim Khim Wah and Wong Pei Tty, wiping out the unseeded dark horses in two straight games. Ranked two places below He and Yu, Xie and Zhang will be the underdogs in the final.

The finals start at 2:30 p.m., local time, on Sunday with an early climax between Lin Dan and Boonsak Ponsana.