It was a day that was truly memorable for the finalists at the Malaysian Masters badminton championships at the Axiata Arena.
China’s Li Shifeng retained his men’s singles title as former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon turned back the clock to claim her third women’s singles Malaysian Masters crown.
The doubles competition also saw three pairs claiming their first titles on the circuit.
But it was also heartbreak for several others, especially the hosts, who saw their hopes in the men’s doubles snuffed out by the Danish pair ofDaniel Lundgaard-Mads Vetsergaard.
Playing in the final of a BWF 500 event for the first time ever, the Danish duo showed their potential with a dominating 21-16, 21-17 defeat of Malaysians Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin.
The Malaysian third seeds had shown top seeded teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals and were favoured over their sixth seed, whom they had beaten in their previous two meetings this year.
It took the Danes 42-minutes to dismantle the Malaysians to avenge their defeats at the Indonesian Masters and Malaysian Open in January.
“It feels crazy. Oh, I have no words on how to describe the feeling. I just think we are very, very happy at the moment. We’ll just try to enjoy the day as much as you can, and then try to prepare for Singapore next week,” said Lundgaard.
Meanwhile, Shifeng claimed his first title of the season with a 21-16, 21-17 win over Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul.
He is only the second player after the legendary Lee Chong Wei to retain the title. Chong Wei had won the title four times on trot between 2009-2012.
“It has been a while since I won a championship. I had some injuries and various physical limitations previously, so winning this championship gives me a good motivation ahead of upcoming competitions,” said Shifeng.
It was his first title since winning the Hong Kong Open in September last year.
“I was too excited, and I could not control the shuttle. All these days the shuttle was fast, but today it was quite slow, so I couldn’t control it. I tried to play faster in the second game and I did well, but I need to improve,” said Panitchaphon.
It was also despair for Panitchaphon’s twin brother Pakkapon in the mixed doubles final.
Debutants Gao Jiaxuan-Wei Yaxin won their first international title as a pair when they romped past Pakkapon and his partner Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-13, 15-21, 21-11 in the final.
“My performance wasn’t that good. I’m very thankful for my senior’s motivation because of which I started to believe in myself, and I could do better,” said Jiaxuan.
It was also a first title forChenFan Shutian-Luo Xumin as they denied Japan’s Sayaka Hirota-Ayako Sakuramoto in the women’s doubles final. They Chinese duo’s 21-16, 25-23 win also meant that they dashed a wining comeback for Sayaka. The Japanese was playing with a new partner, after two major knee injuries.
It was also a record breaking day for Thai veteran Intanon, who won her first title of the season, beating an opponent she had beaten only three times in 22-meeting previously.
The 31-year-old showed she was far from finished with a compelling 21-17, 21-15 win over top seeded Chen Yufei in the women’s singles final.
“My best game? I don’t know, but I was focussing on my mentality,” said Intanon, who barely made a mistake all match.
“That’s why I watched her (videos) of beating me. I could not think only of gameplan, but also mentality because she tried to break my rhythm, and sometimes she plays with my mind – like ‘You want this? But you cannot take it.’ So I feel she tried to play like that.
“Even if I am a senior, my heart is still young. My knees (though) are not young, but I’m happy. Maybe I’ll keep playing for two or three years, I don’t know, but I will try to achieve what I want to get, like a medal at the Asian Games, or if I can qualify to the Olympic Games, I want to win an Olympic medal,” she added.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Li Shifeng (Chn) bt Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (Tha) 21-16, 21-17
Men’s doubles: Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vetsergaard (Den) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin (Mas) 21-16, 21-17
Women’s singles: Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Chen Yu Fei (Chn) 21-17, 21-15
Women’s doubles: ChenFan Shutian-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Sayaka Hirota-Ayako Sakuramoto (Jpn) 21-16, 25-23
Mixed doubles: Gao Jiaxuan-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Pakkapon Teeraratsakul-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) 21-13, 15-21, 21-11
