The weekend of 16th & 17th January saw the YONEX Thailand Open draw to a close with the first champions of 2021 being crowned in Bangkok. Overall, despite slight hiccups with the Covid positive tests, we were treated to an amazing display of world class badminton with the competitiveness and emotions freely on show thanks to the amazing athletes involved.
How did OhkaySports predictions fare?
Winners from ASEAN
We start off with the Women’s doubles competition. We saw the Thailand pair of Rawinda PRAJONGJAI & Jongkolphan KITITHARAKUL come up against Greysia POLII & Apriyani
RAHAYU in the Final.
This was a pleasant surprise to see two teams from ASEAN fight it out after respectively winning their respective semis against the South Korean teams.
It was an emotional victory especially for POLII who let her personal emotions go on show alongside the jubilation of winning. After the win, she divulged that she was playing on despite the personal tragedy of losing her elder brother just after her own wedding.
The battles that were on show, especially in the semi-final game against the South Korean teams really showed off the mettle and fighting spirit of the ASEAN teams. Especially eye-catching was the semi-final between Indonesia and South Korea, with fascinating play at the nets and a true battle of wills. Congratulations again to Rahayu and Polii!
In the Mixed Doubles, we saw another all-ASEAN match-up (this time, as predicted), the Thai top seeds of Dechapol PUAVARANUKROH & Sapsiree TAERATTANACHAI taking on Praveen JORDAN & Melati Daeva OKTAVIANTI of Indonesia.
It was a spirited encounter which saw the fleet-footed agility of the Thai pair being pitten against the strength and accuracy of Praveen JORDAN and OKTAVIANTI.
The leaps and jumps of the Thai pair were on full display in the final and took the first game like a whirlwind 21-3. The Indonesians showed their true colors, fighting back in the second game to win 22-20 with remarkably intelligent and powerful shots from Jordan a highlight in this match.
The final game saw a closely fought game eventually closed out 21-18 by the Thais. It’s amazing again to watch the high level of badminton prowess displayed by these ASEAN athletes. The highlights are truly amazing to watch, and thus presented right here for you!
Men Singles & Doubles
It was always going to be tough for Ginting from Indonesia, coming up against the Danish veteran Victor Axelsen. At times, Axelsen’s natural physical advantage appears to outreach Ginting in every way, with his height and long limbs giving rise to advantageous situations where he take his time to pick his spots. Ginting, however, never gave up without a fight; he delivered intelligent drop shots and cross-courts which gave us a glimpse into the wits and decision making brains of a top top badminton player.
For players that love the intensity of Singles matches, this semi-final had a bit of everything and kudos to Axelsen for triumphing and going on to take the title in the Final against Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong.
For the Men’s doubles, the Malaysia pair of GOH V Shem & TAN Wee Kiong beat the Indonesian Giant-Killers Marthin & Carnando to set up the final against Taiwan’s Wang & Lee. From the get go, the towering Wang set up smash after smash against the Malaysians who were decked in white, winning several points with his aggressive play. This continued at the start of the second game with the Malaysian pair forced to defend side by side.
However, with several quick switches and excellent coordination of movement, the Malaysians got back into the game, winning the supertight second game 22-20 including a dramatic point involving the net which could have seen the Taiwanese side confirm their victory had it gone the other way.
The final game saw a close fight with the scores 19-20 in Taiwan’s favour as we saw the familiar scene of Wang ending the match the way he started, with a jumping smash landing just in front of the Malaysia racket. The contrast of emotions was felt keenly as Wang knelt and gave off a roar of victory, whereas the Malaysian pair crouched in disappointment. Great job both sides for providing such a wonderful game of badminton, and we hope to see the Malaysian pair do even better in the upcoming TOYOTA Thailand Open 2021.
Looking forward!
The YONEX Thailand Open 2021 ended in a week of terrific badminton and was celebrated by badminton fans all over the world that finally got their fix of top level competition. The outstanding performances by all athletes involved also give hope to many other sporting events that are on the calendar this year.
There’s hardly any time for rest for these badminton athletes though, as the TOYOTA Thailand Open 2021 gets underway after a day’s break. It’s a chance for some to make amends whilst for others, it’s an opportunity to consolidate their positions and gains made! OhkaySports.Asia looks forward to more coverage on the upcoming tournaments and get in depth into all the ASEAN athletes that we have watched closely over the past week.
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