Taiwanese world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) yesterday fell to a shock defeat at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok, while her fellow Taiwanese maintained their perfect records at badminton’s season finale.
World No. 13 Pornpawee Chochuwong booked a semi-final spot after her shock 21-17, 21-11 win over Tai.
The 22-year-old Thai had gone into the women’s singles round-robin match having never won a game against the world No. 1, but triumphed in just 37 minutes.
Photo: AFP / Badminton Association of Thailand
“I made a lot of mistakes and couldn’t control the game. I felt tired also and that affected my performance,” Tai said.
An ecstatic Chochuwong said her confidence had risen following the victory.
“When I had a chance, I took it. I didn’t think too far ahead about who I was playing,” Chochuwong said.
“Because Tai is a top player, everyone might think she’s sure to beat me, but today I fought and passed over that feeling that I wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said.
In the men’s singles, Taiwanese world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen (周天成) defeated Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting 21-19, 21-11 for a perfect 2-0 record and a spot in the semi-finals.
World No. 12 Wang Tzu-wei (王子維) also recorded a second consecutive victory over Indian world No. 14 Srikanth Kidambi.
The Taiwanese triumphed 19-21, 21-9, 21-19 after in a three-game match that lasted 78 minutes.
In the men’s doubles, Taiwanese duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟), favorites for the title after winning the previous two tournaments in the Thai capital, also maintained their perfect record with a 21-14, 21-18 victory over English pairing Ben Lane and Sean Vendy.
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