Marin won’t be denied in Malaysian Open final

Spain's Carolina Marin waves to the crowd after beating China's Li Xuerui in the final of the Malaysian Open women's singles event in Bukit Jalil on Sunday. - EPA

KUALA LUMPUR: There’s just no stopping Carolina Marin.

On Sunday, the Spanish tigress struck again to win her first Malaysian Open women’s singles title at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

And again she did it the hard way.

Having lost the first set, the reigning world champion rallied past China’s Li Xuerui 19-21, 21-19, 21-17, to bag the title.

“I’m really happy to win my first Malaysian Open title,” Marin said, who now has two Superseries titles this year.

“After winning the All England, I just wanted to maintain my performance but I did beyond expectations to win another here.”

It was a re-match of the 2014 World Championship final in Copenhagen last August where she shook the badminton world by beating Olympic champion Xuerui in the same manner – from a set down to win 17-21, 21-17, 21-18.

She pulled off the same stunt en route to the All England title last month when she made a remarkable comeback to upset current world No. 1 Saina Nehwal of India 16-21, 21-14, 21-7.

When asked how she keeps on coming back from a set down, she answered, “I simply kept on fighting till the very end.”

“I also talked to my coach who made sure I stuck to my strategy, which was to keep the shuttle in play, make no mistakes and keep the rallies long as I knew Xuerui was tired,” added the 21-year-old, who also thanked the local fans for their support.

“The crowd today was amazing. And with a crowd like that it gives you the energy to keep fighting.”