Kunlavut Vitidsarn(Photo by Sandro Halank)
Both the men’s top seeds in the singles and doubles were denied the title at the Artic Open badminton championships.
Men’s singles top seed, the reigning Asian Champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn was beaten by Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen 21-11, 13-21, 21-19 in the final. Tien Chen, who retained the title he won last year in Vantaa, Finland, had also beaten the Thai ace in the quarter-finals of the China Open earlier this year.
The pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, looking to emulate fellow Malaysians Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzudin who captured the title last year, was given a rude awakening by a lower ranked English pair.
Ben Lane-Sean Vendy turned the formbook upside down, winning the men’s doubles title with a hard earned 21-18, 25-27, 21-17 victory in the final.
However, the Malaysian duos teammates in the women’s doubles were in imperious form. The World Championships runners-up were in total control as they blew away Japan’s Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi 21-7, 21-9 in a lop-sided final.
Pearly-Thinaah are the first Malaysian women’s doubles winners at the Artic Open.
Three time World Champion Akane Yamaguchi defeated Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 21-19, 21-16 for the women’s singles crown.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s Singles: Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 21-11, 13-21, 21-19
Men’s doubles: Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) bt Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) 21-18, 25-27, 21-17
Women’s singles: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 21-19, 21-16
Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-7, 21-9
Mixed doubles: Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin (Chn) bt Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) 21-19, 21-14
