World No.4 Ratchanok Intanon's poor run of form continued with her handler blaming her shock exit in the Korea Open second round on a lack of concentration.
Ratchanok Intanon. AFP
In her second tournament since crashing out in the second round at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 21-year-old Ratchanok yesterday lost 17-21, 17-21 to world No.45 Chen Yufei of China in the last 16 round of the US$600,000 event.
It was another disappointing performance by the Thai, who also suffered quarter-final defeat in the Japan Open last week.
Her manager Kamala Thongkorn said Ratchanok's lack of concentration was the main cause for her poor results.
"She always trains hard, so she is fit," said Kamala, who was with Ratchanok in South Korea.
Kamala added: "Her poor form is not because of a lack of physical fitness but she may be having some health issues.
"The worse thing is she cannot focus on the game the way she used to before. She may have some personal problems as well."
Kamala added that Ratchanok has been plagued with health problems since before the Olympic Games and the Thai star hasn't had the time to seek a remedy due to a busy schedule.
Ratchanok is now due to participate in the $120,000 Thailand Open next week and then the $700,000 Denmark Open Superseries Premier on Oct 18-23.
Ratchanok's string of poor results has left the fans expressing their concerns via social media.
While some believe that it was poor tactics, others blame her love affair with world No.100-ranked shuttler Pannawit Thongnuam, who was also in South Korea but failed to reach the main draw of the men's singles, for her dismal show.
Ratchanok only response in this regard has so far been an Instagram post after her yesterday's loss, saying: "I will even smile when I am discouraged. We will fight together @pannawit_t."