PETALING JAYA: All eyes will be on Ratchanok Intanon (pic) as the Thailand star makes a comeback after three months of non-action at the Malaysian Open.
Coincidentally, the home tournament is Ratchanok’s happy hunting ground, having won it twice in 2016 and 2022.
The 2022 edition was special as she had lifted the crown after running dry without any titles for two years.
She has not played in any tournament since suffering a torn ligament in her left ankle at the Hong Kong Open in September last year, where she had to concede a walkover to Malaysian Goh Jin Wei in the second round.
The injury also saw her missing out on a chance to do well at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
In the Malaysian Open starting on Tuesday at the Axiata Arena, Ratchanok is in the same quarter with Jin Wei in the bottom half of the draw together with second seed Chen Yufei of China.
Ratchanok takes on rising star Kim Ga-eun of South Korea in the opener while Jin Wei meets Sung Shuo-yun of Taiwan.
If all goes well, it could be another comeback show for Ratchanok in Malaysia.
