Ratchanok
A tremendous show of fighting spirit earned Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean a place in the final in the USD350,000 Yonex Sunrise India Open in New Delhi on Saturday.
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The third-seeded Malaysians were on the brink of exit after losing the first game 18-21 and were 14-19 down in the second. However, the Malaysians came out with their guns blazing to force a decider with a 21-19 win.Â
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It was another touch and go affair against Thailand’s second seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai but the Malaysians kept their cool to snatch the match at 21-19 after a titanic 73-minute battle.
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The win against the Thais tied the head to head score to 2-2. The Thais beat the Malaysians at the Daihatsu Indonesia Masters in Jakarta in January this year and last year’s Thailand Masters.
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Mei Kuan-Meng Yean beat their Thai opponents at the 2017 Gwangju Victor Korea Masters.
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In Sunday’s final Mei Kuan-Meng Yean will face top seeds and world No 5 Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu. The top Indonesian pair beat compatriots Della Dastiara Haris-Tania Oktavianti Kusumah 21-9, 19-21, 21-5 in their semi-final match.
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Polii-Apriyani lead Mei Kuan-Meng Yean in the head to head count, having beaten the Malaysians in last year’s World Championships in Nanjing.
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Meanwhile, two-time India Open champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will face China’s He Bingjiao in the women’s singles final.Â
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Intanon defeated China’s Han Yue while Bingjiao broke the hearts of the Indians by knocking out second seed P.V. Sindhu in their respective semi-final matches.