Ratchanok officially becomes world No.1

Ratchanok's extraordinary feat in the OUE Singapore Open 2016 final had earned her a third World Superseries title in three weeks - a historic first by a singles player and the Thai superwoman's incredible 18-21 21-11 21-14 comeback against title-holder Sun Yu ensured that when the world rankings were updated for the next time, Ratchanok would sit at the summit of the women's singles - another milestone in her young but already starry career.

As expected, Ratchanok on Thursday moved atop the BWF world rankings to collect an aggregate 84,703 points from 21 tournaments contested, leaving defending and successive two-time world champion Carolina Marin from Spain to drop from the top to world No.2 with 84,230 points from 14 tournaments. The London Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui from China remains at No.3 in the world, with Japanese Nozomi Okuhara maintaining her fourth ranking. Two Chinese, Wang Shixian and Wang Yihan, claim No.5 and No.6 in the world.

Aside from Ratchanok, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk was another Thai ranked among the world's top 20. Porntip, who has already made it to the quarter-finals in four major tournaments this year comprising Thailand Masters, Singapore Open, Malaysia Open and Swiss Open, has improved her world ranking to move to No.18 on Thursday.

Team-mate Busanan Ongbumrungphan has her world ranking unchanged as she remains at No.21, while Nitchaon Jindapol improved her ranking to currently world No.25.

Ratchanok will next lead the Thais' challenge in the US$200,000 Dong Feng Citroen Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan, China from April 26 to May 1, where she will seek for a successful title defence in the continental tournament.