KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- Different partner. Same result.
That's how versatile Thailand's mixed doubles specialist Dechapol Puavaranukroh is.
The former mixed doubles world champion, who parted ways with Sapsiree Taerattanachai after the 2024 Paris Olympics, paired up with Supissara Paewsampran in October last year and it has been a seamless transition, thus far.
The newly-formed pair have enjoyed swift success, clinching two titles in 2024 - the Kumamoto Masters Japan in November and the Syed Modi India International in December.
The question now is, how far can they go next?
For Dechapol, his ultimate goal is to create history by being the first Thai mixed doubles shuttler to win a medal at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and bag the World Championships crown with Supissara.
The 27-year-old said their earlier time together in national team training paid off as it helped us build "our chemistry”.
“Sometimes, we would change partners during training and that helped us to familiarise ourselves with each other’s game,” he said in a post-match interview during the 2025 Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena here today.
Asked about the differences in partnering Supissara and Sapsiree, he said that while the former played well at the front court, the latter was good at covering the backcourt.
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Supissara aims to secure at least one title in the first half of this year, with the 2025 Malaysia Open clearly in her sights.
“I hope so (2025 Malaysia Open title). It's my closest target,” said Supissara, who previously partnered with Supak Jomkoh.
Dechapol-Supissara had earlier stunned second seeds Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin of China 21-14, 21-19 to check into the last eight of the season-opening Malaysia Open.
-- BERNAMA
