WORLDS 2013 SF – Ratchanok becomes first ever Thai finalist

Ratchanok Intanon (pictured) won the battle of the 18-year-olds at the Wang Lao Ji BWF World Badminton Championships to become the first Thai finalist ever.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent live in Guangzhou.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

P. V. Sindhu (pictured below) may have been free of the home crowd expectations she had to contend with in her first encounter with Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon but it only translated into a few more points as she was again dominated by the Thai wonder, who is only five months her senior.

Ratchanok led from start to finish in both games and walked away with the victory in only 36 minutes.  By making the final, she improved on Thailand’s historical best result at the World Badminton Championships.  The previous best performance was a semi-final appearance by mixed doubles pair Sudket Prapakamol / Saralee Thoungthongkam in 2005 and 2006.

“Before this tournament, I had to rest for about a month to get over the foot injury from just before the Indonesia Open,” said Ratchanok after her victory, “then I had some hard training for this tournament.  Before I came here, I was targeting just the quarter-final and then step by step.

“Today, I think my opponent was nervous and didn’t play well.  I knew I had to play well because she beat Wang Yihan and Wang Shixian.  I was looking forward to playing her and I know how to play her and it was not difficult.

Of course, Ratchanok’s success could be especially important for Thailand in the wake of the negative images from the violence involving the two Thai men’s doubles players at last month’s Canada Open.  When asked about this, Ratchanok explained, “This match is already good news for me and also for the Thai people.  I can see from social networks that Thai people support me and, I think, that they also forgive those men’s doubles players.”

Ratchanok is also among the select few who have beaten Li Xuerui, her opponent in the final tomorrow.  Her success, though came in the summer of 2011, a little before Li suddenly seemed to become invincible.

“After I beat Li at the U.S. Open, she came back and she was stronger and her style changed and I didn’t know how to play her any more.

“I need to play with confidence tomorrow because Li Xuerui has more experience.  I need to be strong and play my best and I hope I can beat her.  I hope I can play confidently and that I can play like it’s training.”

Click here for complete semi-final results