PETALING JAYA: Junior shuttler Carine Tee underlined her growing potential after taking down a string of higher-ranked opponents on her way to clinching her first senior title at the Slovak Open.
World No. 323 Carine produced a stunning performance in the women’s singles finals in Bratislava, Slovakia, yesterday, upsetting second seed and world No. 174 Gergana Pavlova of Bulgaria 23-21, 21-9 in 39 minutes.
In the semi-finals earlier in the day, the 18-year-old Carine came from behind to take down fifth seed and world No. 214 Ulyana Volskaya 17-21, 21-8, 21-4.
The international win comes after Carine captured the National Under-18 title last month, indicating a breakthrough year for her in 2026.
The rising player has been training alongside her senior compatriots at the Academy Badminton Malaysia, and national junior coach Aaron Lee Inbaraj believes more is in store for Carine.
“Winning the National Under-18 title and the Slovak Open is a good boost for her (Carine) confidence,” he said.
“This exposure will open her mind and give more variety to her game.
“She has been training and sparring with the seniors, which has helped improve her shot variety and quality.”
Meanwhile, an all-Malaysian men’s doubles final saw Damien Ling-Mohd Shazmir Irfan Shahrul take down Ahmad Redzuan Zulwaqarriz-Isyraf Hafizin Ibrahim 21-5, 21-19 to win the title.
Women’s doubles pair Tan Xin Yu-Teh Si Yan fell short in the final as they lost 15-21, 21-19, 25-27 to third-seeded Taiwanese duo Chen Hsin-tung-Chen Yu-hsi.
