Thai sisters Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard put other pairs on notice with an impressive 21-15 21-6 win over top seeds Jeong Na Eun and Kim Hye Jeong to seal their place in the knockout phase of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022.

Women’s Doubles Group A Standings

The win sees them top Group A with Korea’s Jeong and Kim scraping through in second with superior games won and lost over fellow Thais Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai.

Nuntakarn, 23, said of their performance: “I really didn’t expect to reach the semifinals, and this is our first ever HSBC BWF World Tour Finals appearance. I’m feeling very excited and very happy at the moment.  Most players walk onto court with their playing partners, but the difference here is I enter a match with my sister.

“There is so much trust between us. There’s no need for me to tell her things. She knows. We have the sensibility to know what to do. Everything is about trust and belief.”

Benyapa, 20, thanked the fans for given them that extra boost today.

“I want to thank everyone for their support, all the fans in the stadium and the international fans supporting us on TV. What is also important is that we really want to continue enjoying playing and we want to entertain the fans and hope the fans can enjoy the game with us. We play with fun in our hearts,” she said.

Nuntakarn added their mother had played a key role it the result.

“We have spoken to our mum and she said just to continue playing and enjoying things, and not put too much pressure on ourselves. She’s proud of us no matter what.”

In women’s double Group B, both Chinese pairs progressed to the semis as Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan defeated Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti 21-16 21-16, while Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu accounted for Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan 21-19 20-22 21-9.

→ Day 3 Results