Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong
KUALA LUMPUR: A shift in mindset has significantly elevated Thailand’s women’s singles shuttler Pornpicha Choeikeewong’s level of performance in high-tier tournaments.
On Friday (Jan 10), the world No. 44 Pornpicha delivered a power-packed performance to topple world No. 5 Han Yue of China 18-21, 21-13, 21-19 in the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
The victory was a major breakthrough for Pornpicha, as she reached the semi-finals of a Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 1000 tournament for the first time in her career.
Last year, Pornpicha struggled with early exits in all of her tournaments, except for the Spain Masters in March, where she reached quarter-finals before losing to Indonesia’s world No. 43 Komang Ayu.
Pornpicha was surprised as she had not expected to clear the quarter-finals.
"I never thought that I could win the match so I’m very happy," said Pornpicha, who will be turning 22 on Jan 24.
"However, it was a tough match, and I’m feeling very tired now.
"Last year, I entered every match under pressure, but I’m glad that I managed to change my mindset.
"Now, I was able to perform better in tournaments now as I play with a more relaxed mindset, without pressure and simply enjoy the game."
Pornpicha will face another daunting task as she takes on world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi of China in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Zhiyi secured her spot by defeating Singapore’s world No. 12 Yeo Jia Min 22-20, 21-16 in another quarter-finals match.
"I will try my best to fight for each point and go all out since I have nothing to lose," said Pornpicha.
