Antonsen, Tai emerge champs

Bangkok, Jan. 31: Topranked Tai Tzu-ying won a dramatic cliffhanger women’s badminton World Tour Final in Bangkok on Sunday, blocking reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin’s bid for a hat-trick of titles in three weeks.

The all Danish men’s singles final was equally nail biting as Anders Antonsen denied Viktor Axelsen a third tournament win in three weeks. Marin beat the Taiwanese 26-year-old two weeks in a row during the previous Thailand Open tournament finals.

The Spaniard had a shaky start Sunday as Tai exploited holes in her defence early, but Marin mounted a successful comeback in the later stages winning the opener 21-14.

Marin was loud and fiesty in her verbal celebrations, but a visibly annoyed Tai soon found her own voice. In the second game Tai dominated early and dictated a commanding pace, eventually triumphing 21-8. The decider was filled with fast and furious rallies — both players yo-yoed up and down the scoreboard — but two late spectacular drop shots were critical in sealing Tai’s victory 21-19.

Thailand has hosted three consecutive badminton tournaments in a bio-secure bubble.

Axelsen, ranked fourth, couldn’t control his nerves — losing the first game 1621 — his body language showing immense frustration as errors piled up and shots landed wide. He managed to regroup to win the second game 21-5. But in the decider Antonsen had all the right answers, triumphing 21-17 to claim the game and the hour-long match against an increasingly ruffled Axelsen.