PETALING JAYA: Women’s singles shuttler S. Kisona (pic) breathed new life in her independent career after capturing the Dutch Open title.
Kisona ended her three-year title drought by beating Azerbaijan’s Kesha Fatimah 21-14, 21-16 in the final in Hertogenbosch on Sunday.
The 26-year-old’s last title before this was the Spain International in 2021.
Kisona, who dropped to No. 101 in the world rankings after struggling with knee injuries, showed fighting spirit en route to beating Spain’s world No. 77 Clara Azurmendi 21-23, 21-11, 21-15 in 52 minutes in the last four.
The 2019 Philippines SEA Games gold medallist successfully bounced back after she suffered a painful exit at the hands of Taiwan’s Lee Yu-hsuan in the first round of the Malaysia Super 100 last week.
Kisona left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) at the end of 2022 to seek alternative treatment for her persistent knee issues.
She is currently training under former national player coach Ho Khek Mong at Ampang Jaya Badminton Club.
Kisona became the first women’s singles player in Malaysia to win a senior international title so far this year.
The victory is the perfect Deepavali gift for the Negri Sembilan player but she has no time to celebrate as she will compete next in the Hylo Open which starts today in Saarbrucken.
Kisona will take on Scotland’s second seed Kirsty Gilmour in the opening round.
Men’s singles shuttler Tan Jia Jie and men’s doubles pair Chia Weijie-Lwi Sheng Hao are the only other Malaysians in action in the tournament.
