Having made an impact at the Thomas Cup earlier this month, Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul continued to make inroads at the upper echelons of men’s singles, taking down No.3 seed Christo Popov 21-13 21-13.

Teeraratsakul will be looking for his first title this season from his third final.

It was a good day for the Teeraratsakul family, with older brother Pakkapon partnering Sapsiree Taerattanachai to their first Super 500 final together. Earlier in the day, Ratchanok Intanon overcame Line Kjaersfeldt to make her first final of the season.

The left-handed Panitchaphon’s speed, explosive bursts and all-court skills proved too hard a challenge for Popov on the day, and although the Frenchman had arrived in Malaysia far from his best, he refused to take any credit away from his opponent.

“He played brilliantly today,” Popov said. “I think he was really flying in court, and he totally deserved to win. Of course, I wanted to give more, but I think he made it so tough for me today, and I think the score also reflects his dominance on court today. He played a great game, and I honestly think if he’s playing tomorrow the same style, I think he has a lot of chance to win. So today I just lost to a better player.”

What They Said

“My coach told me before the match that I’m the best, to have belief in myself. The name Chen Yu Fei means to me that I need to improve. I have a lot of good achievements. I always want to work on something in my game and get better. I need to stay calm and fight for every win.” – Chen Yu Fei on how she stays humble in spite of her intimidating power in women’s singles

“The shuttles were fast today and I think that helped me. I have worked on my confidence and I want to continue working hard. Christo is my idol and it was great to play him.” – Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul after he defeated Christo Popov

“It’s the first time they have both been in a final at the same event. They share their prize money with their mum so I think the boys will ask their mum to share the prize money with them this time!” – Sapsiree Taerattanachai jests with media after she and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul secured their first Super 500 final together

Highlights

» Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard made their first Super 500 final, preventing an all-Malaysian men’s doubles final by beating Junaidi Arif/Yap Roy King 21-19 21-17.

» Gao Jia Xuan/Wei Ya Xin made the final in just their second tournament as a pair, holding off Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje in a tense final game, 22-24 16-21 21-18.

» In an all-Malaysian men’s doubles semifinal, No.3 seeds Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin got the better of top seeds Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik 21-18 21-12.

» New women’s doubles combo Chen Fan Shu Tian/Luo Xu Min also made the final in just their second tournament as a pair, beating compatriots Bao Li Jing/Cao Zi Han 18-21 21-9 21-19.

→Results (Semifinals)

→Order of Play (Finals)