BANGKOK (AFP) – Fifth seeded and former world No. 1, Carolina Marin reached the final of the Toyota Thailand Open badminton on Saturday (January 23), defeating South Korean teenager An Se-young 21-19, 21-15.
The 27-year-old Spaniard, sixth in the world rankings, is seeking consecutive titles at this week’s tournament, the second of three consecutive events in Bangkok culminating in next week’s World Tour final.
She won last week against top ranked Tai Tzu-ying at the Yonex Thailand Open and will face the same opponent again, after continuing her winning streak, maintaining her characteristic aggressive play against seventh An.
The world No. 1 in Taipei, China returned from an initial crisis to defeat local star Ratchanok Intanon on a 12-21, 21-12, 23-21 streak.
The tense third game was marked by lengthy rallies before she took the winning shot against her Thai opponent.
“In the final moments of the game, I enjoyed playing badminton on the court again,” said Tai.
“I can say that (Marín) is very fast and I will try to keep up.”
Marin spoke about the mental battle of being motivated within days of being victorious.
“Sometimes it is difficult for the mentality when you have won a tournament just three days ago and you have to start a tournament again,” said the Olympic champion in title after the match.
The duo had already dueled in last week’s tournament, also in the semi-finals, with the more experienced Marin winning in a quick match 21-18, 21-16.
An, an 18-year-old named ‘Most Promising Player’ in 2019, felt dejected after the loss.
“I tried to respond to his blows and I tried everything,” said the teenager.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out very well, so I’m a bit disappointed.”
Marin’s signature screams after each match point echoing through the stadium without spectators, a coronavirus precaution taken by Thailand as part of its biosecurity ‘bubble’ to accommodate players who have come from around the world.
Despite the best efforts of tournament officials, four positive cases have so far been detected that forced an Indian and an Egyptian player to withdraw.
The men’s singles saw a big surprise when third-placed Denmark Anders Antonsen was eliminated from the tournament by his veteran compatriot Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.
Antonsen had survived a hard-hitting game the day before against Sameer Verma of India, and the shock came on Saturday when he seemed slowest to respond to attacks from Vittinghus, who won the game 21-19, 21-8.
“I totally lost hope (in the second game),” admitted Antonsen, who recovered after contracting the coronavirus in December.
The victory was unexpected, even for Vittinghus in 42nd position. He had a flight booked back to Denmark on Saturday, which he said would now have to be rescheduled.
“I can say this is unbelievable… I am really looking forward to the final tomorrow,” said Vittinghus, who will face fourth-division compatriot Viktor Axelsen on Sunday. The latter defeated Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-15.
The women’s doubles final will be an entirely South Korean event, with third seed Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan taking on fourth seed Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong.
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