The Nation Sathinee drops out of doubles Published on Jul 19, 2003 [BADMINTON] Sathinee Chankrajangwong and Saralee Thungthongkham, who are currently ranked No 9 in the world, yesterday withdrew from the World Badminton Championships in England's Birmingham National Indoor Arena after Sathinee developed pains in the abdomen and underwent an appendectomy. The meet - which was rescheduled because of the Sars outbreak - is due to take place from July 28 to August 3, with over 200 elite players from all over the world vying for top honours. The Thai players who are due to participate include Boonsak Polsana (men's singles), Pramote Theerawiwat/Thessana Phanvissawat (men's doubles) and Sudkhet Prapakamol/Phattapol Ngernsrisuk (men's doubles). They will leave for Birmingham next Friday. Sathinee underwent an emergency operation to have her appendix removed and is fine, according to team officials. With long-time partner Saralee, she performed superbly to capture the Chinese Taipei Open last year . The pair made it to the semi-finals in the Asian Championships and also the Singapore Open. The draw for the world meet, which is the biggest event in terms of gaining points, took place in England yesterday in front of hordes of reporters. It was the International Badminton Federation's first attempt to make the draw transparent. Many countries, including Thailand, have been critical about the way the world body conducted the process in previous major tournaments. Preechachan Wiriyanupappong The Nation
