Thai star edges past Supanida in thriller
PUBLISHED : 22 Nov 2025 at 06:05
Ratchanok Intanon will take on world No.1 An Se-Young in the women’s singles semi-finals of the US$475,000 (approx 15.4 million baht) BWF Australian Open in Sydney.
The Thai fourth seed, who won the Kumamoto Masters Japan last Sunday for her second title of the year, continued her fine form by securing her place in the last four of the Super 500 event.
Ratchanok survived a tough test against Supanida Katethong, taking exactly one hour to come from behind to win 17-21, 21-11, 23-21 yesterday and extending her dominance against her compatriot with an eighth straight victory.
Next up for Ratchanok, who ended her 10-month title drought with the Kumamoto Masters win, is a match-up against top-ranked An, who cruised past Manami Suizu of Japan 21-10, 21-8.
Korean An has had a dominant season and is looking to match her 2023 record of 10 titles in a year, which would keep her on track for Kento Momota’s singles record of 11.
The other semi-final will see second seed Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia square off against seventh seed Michelle Li of Canada.
Two Thai mixed doubles pairs also advanced to the semi-finals on Friday.
Third seeds Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat defeated compatriots Phanuwat Horbanluekit and Benyapa Aimsaard 21-12, 21-15 and will face second seeds Jafar Hidayatullah and Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu of Indonesia in the last four today.
Unseeded Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai battled past fourth seeds Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling-fang 17-21, 21-15, 21-12 and will be up against top seeds Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia in the other semi.
In the men’s singles quarter-finals, Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan edged Alwi Farhan of Indonesia 13-21, 23-21, 21-16 and will next play Lakshya Sen, who beat fellow Indian Ayush Shetty 23-21, 21-11.
Li Chun-yi of Taiwan will meet Yushi Tanaka of Japan in the other semi-final match.