PETALING JAYA: Upsets are part and parcel of the World Championships, and on Monday, former world champion Ratchanok Intanon (pic) was one of the biggest casualties in the opening round in Paris.
The Thai shuttler’s campaign came to an abrupt end after she went down 17-21, 18-21 to world No. 22 Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam in a 45-minute battle at the Adidas Arena.
It was also her second consecutive defeat to Thuy Linh, having lost to the Vietnamese in the quarter-finals of the German Open last year in straight games 13-21, 15-21.
Ratchanok, who turned 30 this year, admitted that time is no longer on her side to reproduce the feat she achieved 12 years ago when she became the youngest-ever world champion, but she accepted the setback as part of her career journey.
“This is not the first time I’ve felt like a failure. What matters now is how fast I can bounce back.
“I want to thank my coaches, sports scientists, seniors and juniors who have always supported me.
“I may not have much time left, but I want to use it to prove how far I can still go.
“I don’t know how many more World Championships I will play in, but I will give everything to try and win another medal,” said Ratchanok.
Ratchanok created history at the 2013 World Championships in Guangzhou when she became the youngest women’s singles champion at the age of 18 after defeating home favourite Li Xuerui in the final.
However, the following editions saw her struggle not only to reach another final but also to garner a medal, until she finally ended her wait in Basel in 2019 by clinching a bronze after reaching the semi-finals, where she lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara.
Besides Ratchanok, another major casualty in the opening round was former Asian champion Lee Zii Jia, who fell to South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-jin 17-21, 11-21.
But the biggest shock of the day came when fourth seed Li Shifeng of China was stunned by little-known Japanese shuttler Yushi Tanaka, going down 19-21, 21-11, 15-21.
