There’s still sorcery in that right hand, fire in the heart, fuel in the legs. When it all comes together, there are few sights more enchanting in badminton than Ratchanok Intanon in flow.
In flow she was on Sunday against an opponent who has dominated her in the past. Chen Yu Fei had a career record of 19-3 going into the final of the PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2026, but over 50 minutes the Thai wove a spell so complete that Chen was often shaking her head in hopelessness and wonder. The score, 21-17 21-15, a display of near-perfection.
Intanon did more than just win her first title of the season. In beating a nemesis she had signalled she was far from done, despite being among the veterans of women’s singles at 31.
“My best game? I don’t know, but I was focussing on my mentality,” said Intanon, who barely made a mistake all match. “That’s why I watched her (videos) of beating me. I could not think only of gameplan, but also mentality because she tried to break my rhythm, and sometimes she plays with my mind – like ‘You want this? But you cannot take it.’ So I feel she tried to play like that.
“Even if I am a senior, my heart is still young. My knees (though) are not young, but I’m happy. Maybe I’ll keep playing for two or three years, I don’t know, but I will try to achieve what I want to get, like a medal at the Asian Games, or if I can qualify to the Olympic Games, I want to win an Olympic medal.”
» Li Shi Feng won his first title in a year, defending his crown with a 21-16 21-17 result over upcoming Thai Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul.
» It was a good day for China, with new combinations Chen Fan Shu Tian/Luo Xu Min in women’s doubles and Gao Jia Xuan/Wei Ya Xin in mixed doubles winning their first titles as a pair.
» World No.18 pair Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard won the biggest title of their career, dashing home hopes by outplaying Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin 21-16 21-17. It was their first HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500 title, marking the high point of a season in which they were semifinalists at the Indonesia Masters and European Championships and runners-up at the Swiss Open.
Credits: BWF
