Top seed Gong Ruina smashed Thailand's only hope in women's singles Sunday by beating Salakjit Ponsana in the second round of the 28th Olympic badminton tournament.

The first set was not easy for Gong, 2001 world champion, to taste the fruit of victory. She almost exerted all her efforts to secure a 11-8 win over 36th-ranked Salakjit.

However, the resistance of the top female shuttler of Thailand declined rapidly in the second set, losing both her stamina and morale to hand over Gong the victory 3-11.

"She is quite stern in the first set, however, the overuse of stamina makes her unable to fight back in the second one," Gong said, adding that she was in better form than yesterday.

Her compatriots Zhang Ning and Zhou Mi, championship favorites together with Gong, will also play their second match in the tournament later today.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2004)