Thai stars target title at Indonesia Masters
Thai stars Ratchanok Intanon and Nitchaon Jindapol will try to win their second title of the year at this week’s Indonesia Masters.
World No.5 Ratchanok won the Malaysia Masters crown on Sunday while No.12 Nitchaon claimed the title at the Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters a week earlier.
The duo will begin their campaigns in Jakarta today in the World Tour 500 (formerly Superseries) tournament.
Ratchanok, 22, faces No.11 Zhang Beiwen of the US, while Nitchaon, 26, takes on No.13 Sayaka Sato of Japan.
Ratchanok defeated top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in the final in Kuala Lumpur and they could meet again for the title this week.
Both Ratchanok and Nitchaon are having good runs over the past few months with two wins each.
Ratchanok was crowned champion at the Denmark Open, while Nitchaon took home the title at the Bitburger Open in Germany.
Also in the women’s singles at the Indonesia Masters today, No.23 Busanan Ongbamrungphan meets fifth seed Sung Ji-Hyun of South Korea.
The winner will meet Nitchaon or Sato in the second round of the US$350,000 (approximately 11 million baht) event.
Meanwhile, Tai faces Canada’s Michelle Li in the opening round.
In the men’s singles, Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen beat Indonesia’s Saputra Vicky Angga in the qualifying round yesterday for a place in the main draw.