Ratchanok is world champ!!
She's only 18, but she is already on top of the badminton world. Ratchanok Intanon played like a veterantoday, keeping her composureto become the women’s world champion in a thrillingtwo sets to one win over Chinese top seedLi Xuerui in Guangzhou, China.
The fourth-seeded Nakhon Pathom native– a tripleworld junior champion – came from far behind (12-19) to win the first set 22-20, then lost a close second set 18-21 and then powered by her rival20-14 in the final set to cause one of the biggest upsets in world badminton this year.Ratchanok brieflyburst into tears after her Chinese rival's final return landed just wide, perhaps thinking of just how far she had come from her humblebeginnings as the daughter of
Ratchanok, better known as Nong Mei, learned the game on the factory badminton courts where she was sent to keep her away from cooking furnaces. The owners of the factory producing dessertfoods were worried she would be burned by boilingwater and hot sugar.
Success come quickly for the young protégé . She won her first titleat the age of seven and, in 2009, aged 14, Ratchanok became the youngest-ever champion at the BWF World Junior Championships in Malaysia. She went on to win two more junior world titles.
It's hard to imaginewhat lies ahead for the youngest-ever woman's world champion.
European doubles champion Gill Clark on Saturday, the day before the final, predicted Ratchanok and her young Indian rival who is also 18, would take the sport to a new level
Sindhu, the No. 10 seed had earlier stunned defending championWang Shixian of China in the quarter-finals However, she was unable to matchRatchanok's power and precisionSaturday.
"They have the skills and the shot variation Consistency used to win in the women's game, but it won't win now," Clark, now a TV commentator said.
"When you watch the top men players you can't tell which way the shuttle's going to come, and it's exciting. Now it's the same thing for the women."