Ratchanok eyes world No 1
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Thai teenager announces mission after clinching her first major title
Thai ace Ratchanok Intanon is eyeing the world No 1 throne following her maiden Super Series victory in the India Open in New Delhi on Sunday.
The 18-year-old, who upset world No 4 Juliane Schenk of Germany 22-20 21-14 for her first crown of the season in Delhi, was welcomed home by fans early yesterday, when she announced her mission to climb atop the rankings.
“My next target is to reach the top three, and the ultimate goal is to be No 1 in the world. But it won’t be easy as the current No 1 Li Xuerui is leading by a huge margin,” said Ratchanok, who finally won a title after finishing runner-up this year in the Swiss Open and All England Open.
The teenager is currently No 6 in the world with 65,884.7954 points, while the Chinese tops of the rankings with 86,666.7153. Ratchanok is expected to rise one spot to fifth when the rankings are updated tomorrow.
Against the 31-year-old German rival whom she had beaten four times in succession, Ratchanok rallied from behind to build an early 20-13 lead. But she squandered all seven game points with a series of unforced errors.
At 22-all the excited Indian crowd scented a comeback from the German, but the Thai unleashed her impressive repertoire of shots to win the next two points and close out the opener.
After a fierce duel at the start of game two, Ratchanok powered ahead thanks to better shot selection and eventually wrapped up the final in 44 minutes.
“I was under a lot of pressure after leading by such a big margin but then failing to capitalise on those game points and letting her level things at 20-20,” said Ratchanok. “But I dug deep into the experience I gained from losing those two finals [earlier this year] and stayed mentally tough to pull it off.”
Ratchanok was welcomed at Suvarnabhumi Airport by her parents Winatchai Intanon and Kamphan Suwansala.
“I’m overjoyed to have finally won a tournament this year. I would like to thank all my fans in Thailand and those in India,” said Ratchanok, who next plays the Sudirman Cup team event in Kuala Lumpur from May 19 to 26. Thailand are in a group alongside South Korea and Hong Kong in the mixed team tournament.
But it’s the Thailand Open, from June 4-9 at the Nimitbutr National Stadium, that Ratchanok is looking forward to.
“I’m excited to be playing at home for the first time in a very long while. Last year I lost the final and I’m hoping for the better this year.”
The victory in India was Ratchanok’s first major title, fulfilling Thai hopes that were sparked by her never-say-die attitude and dazzling form in last year’s London Olympics.
On the men’s side of the India Open, Malaysian ace Lee Chong Wei, world No 1 and consecutive two-time Olympic champion, clinched the singles crown after a battling past Japanese sixth seed Kenichi Tago 21-15 18-21 21-17.
In the mixed doubles, Indonesian Tontowi Ahmad/Lilyana Natsir landed the title for the third straight year. China’s Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan took the men’s doubles crown, with Japan’s Miyuki Maeda/Satoko Suetsuna returning home with the women’s doubles title.
