Reigning World No 1 Chen Yufei of China showed her class as she handed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei a 21-17, 21-10 in the final to win the women’s singles title in the USD400,000 Perodua Malaysia Masters at Axiata Aren, Bukit Jalil on Sunday.
Yufei, the winner of four consecutive finals, including the season-ending World Tour Finals in Guangzhou, China in December, was seeded second in the Malaysia Masters presented by Daihatsu while Tzu Yin, a former World No 1 was the top seed.
The 21-year-old Yufei pocketed USD30,000 in prize money that came with the title and next heads to Jakarta for the Daihatsu Indonesia Masters. People hail her as the favorite for the gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, Yufei begs to differ but will let her game do the talking on the court. En route to the title, Yufei defeated reigning Olympics champion, Carolina Marin of Spain, in the semifinals 21-15, 21-14.
“I might have beaten Tzu Ying today but that does not make me the favorite at the Tokyo Olympics…it is not on my mind yet. It will be one match at a time for me for now.
“Winning the Malaysia Masters does not make me a favorite at the Indonesia Masters. Today’s final was a much better match for me compared to my matches in the earlier rounds,” said Yufei who was never in doubt of victory on Sunday.
For Tzu Ying, it was another disappointment in the Malaysia Masters. Champion two years ago, Tzu Ying was beaten by Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon at the same stage last year. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH