KUALA LUMPUR: Thai mixed doubles star Dechapol Puavaranukroh believes he can achieve the same level of success with new partner Supissara Paewsampran as he did with former partner Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
Dechapol, 27, says he's embracing the challenge of "starting from zero" after ending his nine-year partnership with Sapsiree, 32, following the Paris Olympics in August last year.
Their impressive run together included a world title in 2021, a world No. 1 ranking and 17 World Tour titles.
The Thailand national team's decision to pair Dechapol with Supissara, who previously played with Supak Jomkoh, has already proven successful.
The new partnership won the Kumamoto Masters Super 500 and Syed Modi International Super 300 last year.
Dechapol-Supissara's momentum continues to build, as evidenced by their strong performance at the season-opening Malaysia Open at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Thursday.
They upset China's world No. 2 Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin 21-14, 21-19 to advance to the quarter-finals.
"Our partnership has been progressing well. We're pleased with our trajectory since teaming up in October last year," Dechapol said.
"I'm approaching this as a fresh start. I'm no champion. I've put my previous achievements with Sapsiree behind me and am eager to forge a new path with Supissara, who I believe can help us reach similar heights."
Discussing the differences between his partners, Dechapol noted: "Supissara excels at front-court play, so we're focusing on strengthening our defensive strategy. With Sapsiree, we had an exceptional defence."
Supissara, who reached a career-best ranking of No. 10 with former partner Supak, has set ambitious goals for the new partnership.
"We aim to win our first title within six months, hopefully as soon as this week," she said.
"Our ultimate goal is to build toward success at the Los Angeles Olympics.'
The pair will face France's Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue in the quarter-finals, who earned their spot by upsetting China's eighth-seeded Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui 18-21, 21-12, 22-20.