# Malaysians came unstuck at the final hurdle
There was no fairy tale ending for Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie in the mixed doubles final in the USD120,000 Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold in Bangkok on Sunday.
The fifth seeds crumbled under pressure when it mattered and allowed China’s young pair He Jiting-Du Yue to walk away with a 21-13, 16-21, 21-12 win in 56 minutes.
The Malaysians were touted to win their first Grand Prix title after they snuffed out top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand 21-19, 19-21, 21-17 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
However, nothing went right for the Malaysians at the final hurdle and gave away precious points to their Chinese opponents especially in the third set. It was a below par performance from the Malaysians compared to their semi-final match.
This is the second time the Soon Huat-Shevon Lai fell at the final hurdle in a Grand Prix Gold event. They were also at the losing end in the Malaysia Masters in Sibu, Sarawak earlier this year.
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles final India’s B. Sai Praneeth notched his second title this year. The number three seed defeated Indonesia’s fourth seed Jonatan Christie 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 in the 71-minute final. In April he won the Singapore Open Superseries.
The women’s final which was an all-Thailand final saw former world champion Ratchanok Intanon slog to hard fought 21-18, 12-21, 21-16 win in 84 minutes over Busanan Ongbamrungphan.
RESULTS (All Finals)
Men’s singles
Sai Praneeth (Ind) beat Jonatan Christie (Ina) 17-21, 21-18, 21-19
Men’s doubles
Berry Angriawan-Hardianto Hardianto (Ina) beat Raphael Beck-Peter Kaesbauer (Ger) 21-16, 21-16
Women’s singles
Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) beat Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 21-18, 12-21, 21-16
Women’s doubles
Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu (Ina) beat Chayanit Chaladchalam-Phataimas Muenwong (Tha) 21-12, 21-12
Mixed doubles
He Jiting-Du Yue (Chn) beat Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas) 21-13, 16-21, 21-12
