When in-form Ratchanok Intanon lifted the Malaysia Open trophy yesterday, her third victory of the year not only put her in line for a promotion to world No.2 spot but also gave birth to hopes of Thailand claiming their first badminton medal at the Olympic Games.
Ratchanok, who last week added the India Open crown to her Thailand Masters title in February, completed back-to-back victories in the Superseries events with a comfortable win over Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in Shah Alam yesterday.
In yesterday's final of the women's singles competition, world No.4 Ratchanok spent only 39 minutes on the court to register a comfortable 21-14, 21-15 victory over No.9-ranked Tai.
After her brilliant title run in the India Open, Ratchanok has used the Malaysia Open stage to give herself a much-needed boost for her pursuit of a still-elusive Olympic medal.
The most important of her recent exploits has been the emphatic victory that brought to an end her jinxed run against boogeywoman Wang Yihan of China in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The 2013 world champion Ratchanok, 21, defeated Wang for the first time in their 13 encounters so far, and that too in straight sets.
The title in Shah Alam assured Ratchanok of a US$41,250 (about 1.45 million baht) payday and the Yasothon native is now expected to move up to the second place in the world rankings behind Spain's Carolina Marin later this week.
A jubilant Ratchanok said the Malaysia Open title was a Songkran present for the Thai people. The festival marks the country's traditional New Year on April 13-15.
"I am really happy to win two titles in a row. This is for all Thais on the happy occasion Songkran," she said.
"I wish you all happiness on this special occasion and please use water economically."
She said she played brilliantly this week and hopes to carry her form to this week's US$350,000 Superseries Singapore Open.
"Please continue supporting me and all the Thailand national players.
"For me, I am likely to move up to second in the world later this week."
At the Singapore Open, Ratchanok is third seeded and will start her campaign against Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong in the first round.
Ratchanok is so far the only Thai shuttler who has been assured of a place at the Rio Games.
She is keen to make amends for her quarter-final exit at the 2012 London Games.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's badminton star Lee Chong Wei won his 11th Malaysian Open title yesterday.
Lee cruised to victory with a flurry of devastating smashes against world No.1 Chen Long from China, beating him 21-13, 21-8 in a match that lasted 42 minutes.
The world No.4 shuttler was in fine form for the Malaysian competition after suffering early exits in the All England Championships and India Open in March.
"Many critics have said that I should retire after some poor performances. But I know within myself that I am capable of still producing the goods at the highest level and this win was the proof of that," said Lee, 33.
"I am happy to win another title here and this triumph certainly boosts my spirits ahead of the Olympics."
Chen called Lee a role model for young Malaysian shuttlers.
"It is not easy for a player at his age to maintain a high-level performance year-in, year-out and you can see the crowd really appreciated that," said Chen.
Momota out of Olympics
Olympic medal hope Kento Momota has been kicked off Japan's badminton team for this summer's Games for gambling at an illegal casino, officials said yesterday.
The Nippon Badminton Association threw the book at the 21-year-old world No.2, banning him from competition indefinitely, after an emergency meeting to decide the player's fate.
Teammate Kenichi Tago, also found guilty of placing illegal bets, was removed from the organisation's official player list for an indefinite period.
Momota became the first Japanese man to win a world championship medal with a bronze in Jakarta last August and had been tipped to challenge for the title in Rio.
The controversy caused a stir last week, with Japanese badminton chief Kinji Zeniya breaking down in tears on television before resolving to deal harshly with the offenders. Government ministers were also quick to condemn the players.
"It is important to take a resolute stance against players guilty of illegal acts," Zeniya told reporters, while leaving the door open to a possible Olympic return for Momota at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
"The possibility [of competing at the Tokyo Olympics] is not zero. We want them to fully understand the seriousness of the situation."
Gambling is largely illegal in Japan. The incident comes after a betting scandal that sent shockwaves through the country's most popular sport, baseball, just as it is bidding for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. bangkokpost/afp