Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai have won the mixed doubles badminton title at the Toyota Thailand Open on Sunday.
The top seeds needed 46 minutes to defeat the fourth-seeded South Koreans Seo Seung-Jae and Chae Yu-Jung 21-16, 22-20 in the final at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani.
After taking the first set, Dechapol and Sapsiree were given a scare as the South Koreans kept the second set in a tight contest. The score was 20-20 before the Thais snatched the last two points to secure their historic win.
The victory made Thai duo back-to-back champions for the first time. They won the Yonex Thailand Open at the same venue on Jan 17 — their first victory in the World Tour Super 1000 mixed doubles titles.
The triumphant shuttlers received another US$74,000 (2.2 million baht) for the win on Sunday, after bagging the same amount a week ago. Their next target is the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals starting on Wednesday.
Spain’s Carolina Marin Wins Back-to-Back Badminton Titles
Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marin on Sunday claimed her second Thailand Open title against women’s singles top seed Tai Tzu-ying. Thailand is hosting three consecutive badminton tournaments in a bio-secure coronavirus bubble, without spectators.
Former world champion Carolina Marin, 27, went into Sunday’s Toyota Thailand Open final without losing a single game across the two tournaments. She won the Yonex Thailand Open final on Jan 17.
The Spaniard claimed the first game 21-19.
The Taiwan’s 26-year-old Tai Tzu-ying appeared to lose her confidence early in the second set, as a dangerous Marin asserted her dominance. Tai also saved four match points but her comeback was too little too late as Marin sealed her victory 21-17.
Marin has also faced an uphill battle to recover from a January 2019 knee injury in time to defend her crown in Tokyo.