Ratchanok, Dechapol and Sapsiree in Malaysia Masters finals
World No 8 Ratchanok Intanon is a step away from defending her crown as she tamed two-time World Junior champion Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia in the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
The reigning champion employed her superior all court game and fierce smashes to subdue the opponent 21-16 21-16 in a rematch of the 2018 quarter-finals.
Ratchanok lines up a final showdown against three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain. The latter ousted India’s Saina Nehwal 21-16 21-13 in the other semi-finals. The Thai leads the Spaniard 5-3 in their head-to-head series but it was Marin who won their last two matches in the 2018 Malaysia Open and 2017 Japan Open.
Thailand also had two more representatives in the Sunday’s final after Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek of the Netherlands 21-19 21-14 in the mixed doubles semi-finals. The Thai just beat the Dutch duo last week in the Thailand Masters.
They will play world No 3 Arisa Higashino and Yuta Watanabe in the gold medal match.
