KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 – After twice playing second fiddle in the two Thailand Open Super 1000 tournaments, top-ranked Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei chopped down her conqueror’s arrogance when she defeated Spain’s Olympic champion, Carolina Marin to win the women’s singles in the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2020 in Bangkok on Sunday.
The 26-years-old Tzu Ying claimed the title with a come-from-behind 14-21, 21-8, 21-19 win in 67 minutes for her third Tour Final title.
The victory was extremely sweet for Tzu Ying who was earlier beaten by the Spaniard in the Yonex Thailand Open and the Toyota Open finals.
The reigning world No. 1 will remember the Impact Arena for the two defeats and more importantly, for the sweet win in the season-ending grand finale – a big boost before the Tokyo Olympic qualifying tournaments get underway.
The Spaniard is known for arrogance on the court but the cool Tzu Ying kept her momentum and responded with a masterly performance to show that she is still a force in the game and a threat for the Olympic gold in Tokyo.
Tzu Ying also sent strong signals that the Asian shuttles will be a force in Tokyo and the absence of the Japanese and Chinese badminton teams from the three tournaments in Bangkok will add to the rivalry in the Olympics.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were earlier scheduled to be held in July-August last year but have now been rescheduled from July 23-Aug 8 2021.
It was a grand double for Chinese Taipei when Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin used their speed and power to defeat defending champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra of Indonesia 21-17, 23-21 for the men’s doubles title.
The win saw Lee Yang-Chi Lin return home with a hattrick of wins having won the Yonex Thailand Open and the Toyota Thailand Open. To beat their idols for the world tour final is the icing on the cake for the champions.
In the men’s singles final which was an all-Denmark affair Anders Antonsen, seeded second in the Tour Finals turned the tables on top seed Viktor Axelsen in an hour-long thriller for a 21-16, 5-21, 21-17 win. Axelsen had won both the Thailand Opens and was the early favorite for his third title in Bangkok.
The women’s doubles final was an all-Korean affair with Lee So Hee-Shin Seung Chan overcoming compatriots Kim So Yeong-Kong Hee Yong 15-21, 26-24, 21-19 in a marathon 92-minute thriller after saving six match points in the second game.
Thailand had plenty to cheer in the last final of the day – the mixed doubles – with Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai beating Korean hopes Seo Seung Jae-Chae YuJung 21-18, 8-21, 21-8 in 57 minutes. They had also won the title in the Yonex Thailand Open and the Toyota Thailand Open.
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