SYDNEY: Hopes for an all-Thailand women’s final were dashed on Saturday when Ratchanok Intanon and Nitchaon Jindapol were both dispatched from the Australian Open badminton tournament.
Fourth seed Ratchanok fell in straight sets (21-17, 21-15) to top seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a semi-final match that lasted just 46 minutes. Nitchaon, who was unseeded in Sydney, mounted a stirring challenge to second seed Chen Yufei of China, who prevailed in three sets (21-10, 23-25, 21-6)
Ratchanok, ranked seventh in the world, entered the BWF World Tour Super 300 event in search of her third title of the year. The 24-year-old former world No.1 was victorious at the Malaysia Masters in January and the India Open in March. She was also a finalist at the German Open in March.
