Ratchanok moves a step closer to winning her fourth title of the year in Singapore Open
In-form Ratchanok Intanon moved a step closer to winning the US$350,000 OUE Singapore Open World Superseries at the Singapore Indoor Stadium when the world No.2 and Thai third seed powered her way past fighting Japanese eight seed Akane Yamaguchi in strai
Ratchanok has already captured three major titles this year consisting the Thailand Masters Grand Prix Gold, the India Open World Superseries and the Malaysia Open World Superseries Premier. Following her exceptional performances, the Thai ace moved to the second spot of the BWF world rankings when the world’s badminton-governing body announced its weekly updates on the world ranking of the global badminton players on Thursday.
However, it is likely that Ratchanok, who emerged as the world champion after stunning the London Olympic Games gold medallist Li Xuerui in the thrilling final cash on the China Mainland in 2013, will climb up to the top spot of the world ranking if she advances to the final of the on-going Singapore Open and reigns supreme in the star-studded tournament.
Against Yamaguchi on Thursday, the current Asian champ took the first game without much trouble 21-12. However, holding 1-0 advantage, the Thai sensation struggled in the second game when the Japanese fought back bravely with dazzling backhand smashes and deceptive cross-court drop shots which saw the on-going game turn out to be a hotly-contested encounter.
Ratchanok showed her grits to narrowly lead 17-15 at the near end of the game, but Yamaguchi was just never-say-die. She taught Ratchanok victory never comes easily as the Japanese fought bak with lightning fast drop shots and steep smashes to the back court to tie the score at 20-20. However, with the greater experience and form, Ratchanok went on her awesome display to capture successive two points to win the hard-fought game 22-20, the match and a final berth.
On Sunday, Ratchanok will go up against Chinese Sun Yu, who thrashed He Bingjiao 21-10 21-16 in the all-Chinese semi-final clash.
Ratchanok and Sun Yu played in three matches and the former proved better to hold a 2-1 win/loss record against the latter. Earlier this year, Ratchanok beat Sun in straight games in the All-England Championships.