Dechapol, Sapsiree suffer stunning defeat in China

Mixed doubles duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattachai bowed out in the quarter-finals of the US$2 million China Open in Changzhou yesterday.

The fourth-seeded Thais suffered a surprise defeat to Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing of Malaysia 18-21, 19-21 at the World Tour Super 1000 event.

The Malaysians go on to meet fifth seeds Seo Seung-Jae and Chae Yu-Jung, who again knocked out top seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China 17-21, 21-13, 21-17.

The Koreans also defeated Zheng and Huang in the final of the world championships in Copenhagen last month.

Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia and Thom Gicquels and Delphine Delrue of France will meet in the other semi-final today.

Women’s…