Sitthikorn serves another warning that Thais will be hard to break
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian men’s singles shuttlers continue to fall by the way side but rivals Thailand have just got better.
World No. 22 Sitthikorn Thammasin stunned top seed Shi Yuqi of China 12-21, 21-14, 21-7 in the Macau Open final yesterday to mark his career’s biggest win.
The 24-year-old became the latest Thai men’s singles shuttler to stamp his mark after Kantaphon Wongcharoen and Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Kantaphon, 21, made headlines in August when he became the first Thai to win a medal – a bronze – in the men’s singles competition at the World Championships in Basel.
Kunlavut, 19, meanwhile, created history as the first player to emerge boys’ singles champion for three consecutive editions at the World Junior Championships in Kazan last month.
Sitthikorn’s exploits should serve as a warning to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia as the duo are slated to cross paths in the first round of the Hong Kong Open next week.
Sitthikorn could also be a threat that Zii jia cannot take lightly if he harbours hopes of winning gold at the Philippines SEA Games next month.
As for Yuqi, it certainly did not go according to plan for him with the defeat.
Yuqi was entered for the Macau Open, a fourth-tier World Tour event, in what was a desperate move by the China BA to help him grab maximum points on offer.
That’s because the world No. 6 has just returned from a long injury lay-off and finds himself in a race against time to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Prior to the Macau Open, Yuqi only managed to compete in three tournaments since the Olympic qualification got under way in May. He played in the Sudirman Cup in May, Indonesian Open in July and China Open in September.
It was in Jakarta that he hurt his ankle during his second-round clash against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen.
The 2018 All-England champion was rushed back into action for the home Open despite not having regained his full fitness.
As a result, Yuqi was beaten in the first round in just 15 minutes by compatriot Lu Guangzu in just 15 minutes, drawing boos from his own fans.
Yuqi is currently ranked 56th in the BWF Race to Tokyo rankings behind five compatriots – Chen Long (sixth), Lin Dan (13th), Huang Yuxiang (30th), Sun Feixiang (33rd) and Guangzu (37th).
As it stands, 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist Chen Long and Lin Dan, the winner in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, will be the two Chinese shuttlers making the cut.
A nation can qualify a maximum of two representatives in the singles competition provided both are ranked in the top 16 when the qualification period ends on April 30 next year.
Lin Dan, however, has been struggling with his form of late and could drop out of the top 16 if he continues to lose early in tournaments.
It’s not hard to understand why the China BA are pushing the 23-year-old Yuqi as they simply can’t afford to head to Tokyo with just one men’s singles qualifier.