A formidable challenge welcomed Rupertite Adrian Liu and his badminton men’s doubles partner Derrick Ng last Wednesday at the Yonex Suffolk County Community College US Open in New York.
Trying to gather as many points as they could to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, Liu and Ng took on Puavaranukroh Dechapol and Kedren Kittinupong from Team Thailand, the sixth-ranked country in the world in badminton, in the first round. Canada is currently ranked 18th.
Liu and Ng would eventually fall in straight sets to their Thai opponents, who later lost to Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi.
In the first game, the Canadians started out with a 6-4 lead, but the Thai team roared back and won the next 10 of 11 points to earn a 14-7 lead. After that, they didn’t look back, downing Liu and Ng 21-16.
The second and final game featured a back and forth affair, with five lead changes between the two doubles teams. Liu and Ng led the Thai duo 7-4 early on, but again Dechapol and Kittinupong saved their best stuff for later and collected a 16-12 lead. The Canadians would tie it up 19-19, before two heartbreaking points for the Thais earned them the win, taking the second game 21-19 and the overall match.
Next up for the Rupertite Liu is the Yonex Canada Open, taking place from June 23 – 28 in Calgary.