Shock withdrawals, shock exits and shock reinstatements; January’s tournaments were never dull.  Unless of course, you happen to be a player quarantined in the Bangkok Novotel for 20 hours a day with chicken for dinner again.  Indomie products were suddenly currency and some athletes were  incentivised by the prospect of a year’s supply of the world’s best instant snack.

This is my look at the three Thailand tournaments.  I’m not pretending that I’m unbiased, or that I can cover everything but I hope my highlights remind you what a cracking few weeks fans have just enjoyed. 

HK Vittinghus’ January was epic.  Initially on the reserve list he had the ambition to gamble and start the long trip to Thailand from Denmark with no guarantee of a game.  Events moved in his favour when the Japanese team turned back at Tokyo airport following Momota’s positive test.  His story stuttered at the Yonex Thailand Open when he lost to compatriot Gemke in R1 but the following week saw him excel and become the focus of fierce support from fans in Indonesia who had realised that the further he progressed the more likely Anthony Ginting was to qualify for the World Tour Finals.  Some wild incentives involving Indomie noodles were offered.  Through very intense games he found a route to to the final and a match against Axelsen.  Along the way, his results meant that Anthony Ginting did qualify. Axelsen powered through the encounter but HK can be proud of his month’s work.

Astonishingly there were triple champions in MD and XD and double champions in MS and WS which suggests that finding the winning formula fast in the impact arena offered big rewards.  I think that people with good underlying fitness combined with the resilience and drive to make the most of opportunities were at an advantage. Fatigue – mental and physical – was a factor for some as there was little breathing space between each tournament.

Men’s Singles

The Danish men controlled the courts all month – I’ve already mentioned Vittinghus but the fluctuations in the balance of power between Axelsen and Andersen is fascinating and I’m really looking forward to see who has the upper hand in March.  Andersen prevented his fellow Dane from a clean sweep of titles by some tactics at the World Tour Finals that some found controversial.  Not me.  I felt he was strategically very smart.  It’s unfair to reduce his astute strategy to his ‘easy’ concession of the second set.  Throughout the match he refused to give Viktor pace from smashes to feed off and this was a key element in his win.

There were times when we saw sublime standards from Anthony Ginting and I was disappointed that he didn’t get to a final.  His challenge is to stay with a game at the death. CHOU Tien Chen consistently made the semi-final of all three tournaments but somehow just lacked the resources to finish a match off.

Women’s Singles

Carolina Marin – like Viktor – completely dominated her sector in the first two tournaments; bulldozing TAI Tzu Ying aside as she triumphed in both of their finals .  At the season’s finale she was prevented from making it a hat trick by a tactically astute performance by TTY who finally managed to eliminate errors when it came to the crucial stage of the game.  This link will take you to my article that discusses TTY’s win in more detail https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2021/02/02/tai-tzu-ying-genius/

I’m often dazzled by Ratchanok Intanon to the extent that I don’t give enough attention to the other athletes in the Thai team.  Pornpawee Chochuwong can look back over her matches with a lot of satisfaction.  We saw her potential twelve months ago when she beat Marin in the final of the Spain Masters and it turns out that that was not a fluke. At the end of a hard month she was a semi-finalist at the World Tour Finals and posed a threat to every player.  AN Se Young also caught my eye: she got to three semi finals but couldn’t quite push through to a podium finish.

Mixed Doubles

A deserved hat-trick of titles for the home pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh & Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Bass/Popor).  They have been on the brink of good results for a while and this month they competed with gutsy resilience and strong self-belief.  They are a wonderful team with excellent mobility, stamina and racket skills. 

“This is my reward for nine months of hard work and dedication”

Sapsiree Taerattanachai courtesy BWF Media press office

This success could see them start to dominate their sector.

Women’s Doubles

I’ve always been a big fan of GreyAp and so I was beyond thrilled to watch their emotional win in the YTO.  Soon their journey together will end.  I’m delighted that they have used these tournaments to showcase their best style: Greysia smiling and Apri roaring on to victory. Well played girls!

Men’s Doubles

The Taiwanese duo – LEE Yang and WANG Chi-Lin – really enhanced their reputations throughout January.  Not only did they win all three competitions but their humble self-deprecating comments endeared them to watching fans.  Playing to their strengths they used power and muscle non-stop to overcome rivals.  They were too fast and furious even for Ahsan and Setiawan to tame and no-one beats the Dads by accident.  On the subject of the Dads; once again these two gnarly warriors battled through adversity and showed why they are admired worldwide. Here is my look at Ahsan’s gritty fight to stay in the game when he was struggling with an injury https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2021/01/20/mohammad-ahsan-player-of-the-day-total-legend/

Finally…Coach Kim, Happiness and Hope

The effervescent Coach Kim popped up in Thailand with the Korean team. Her energetic style radiates confidence and is irresistible. During the interval she seems able to outline any observations to her team in about ten frenetic cheerful seconds then she calmly sits down whilst the opposition coach remains standing.

It was an uplifting few weeks. Back to back tournaments undoubtedly stretched athletes but they still delivered some breathtaking matches full of skill. I think they gave supporters hope that there is a return to regular badminton just around the corner.

---

Here’s my recent article about Momota https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2020/12/27/momota-the-return-of-the-king/

---

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved