Spaniard beaten 22-20, 13-21, 21-18 by fit-again Ratchanok Intanon in quarter-finals
Spaniard Carolina Marin. PIC/Getty Images
Birmingham: Ratchanok Intanon, the former world champion from Thailand who only just won a fitness race to be ready for this week's All-England Open, made a startling recovery to defeat Olympic champion Carolina Marin on Friday.
Marin had not won a World Super Series event since before her Rio triumph, and although she vowed to rectify that by winning the title this week, she slid from within sight of victory to an improbable 22-20, 13-21, 21-18 defeat.
Ratchanok Intanon
Marin had been 18-11 up in the final game, having landed a variety of heavy smashes, sliced, round-the-head, and cannonball flat, which looked to be overwhelming the defences of her young rival. But the Thai then started to take the attacking initiative away from the aggressive Spaniard, landing three good blows herself and suddenly generating some momentum.
I lost focus: Marin
Surprisingly Marin was unable to wrest it back, and at 18-16 was spoken to by the umpire, apparently for something she said. By that stage she had begun taking risks to get the elusive last three points, but this resulted in a mid-court jab into the net and a kill into the net, followed by a stunning defeat when she cleared the shuttle long. "I was in control of the match at 18-11 but I lost focus," Marin reckoned.
"My opponent rushed me and I can't understand why I lost it." Ratchanok next plays a surprise semi-finalist, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, whose 21-23, 21-14, 22-20 victory over the fourth-seeded Sun Yu ended the Chinese bid to regain a women's singles title they have dominated for a large part of two decades.
Lee Chong, Lin Dan in semis
Meanwhile, Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, the two outstanding male players of the 21st century, closed in on an unexpected showdown when they reached the semi-finals of the All-England Open.
Lee, three times the All-England Open champion, produced a light-footed performance belying the fact a knee injury almost prevented the 34-year-old Malaysian from making his final appearance here, and outplayed Tian Houwei, the seventh-seeded Chinese player, 21-12, 21-15.
China's Lin, the 33-year-old three time Olympic champion, recovered from a woeful first game to generate rallies of patience, accuracy and beauty, to oust Viktor Axelsen, the World Super Series champion from Denmark, by 8-21, 21-14, 21-15.
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