The dynamic Malaysian duo broke new ground by defeating top seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of the CLASH ROYALE Arctic Open 2024 for the first time in four encounters on Saturday. Their thrilling comeback victory, with scores of 19-21, 21-17, 21-18, has propelled them into their third final in just five tournaments.
“We prepared thoroughly and didn’t focus on the outcome. Our priority was to perform our best, which proved to be crucial. We maintained our composure and enjoyed the match,” stated Goh after the game.
Today’s clash against defending champions Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen at the Energia Arena marks the fourth final for the world No. 8s this season. Now competing independently, they have already celebrated victories at the Japan Open and China Open, claiming their first Super 750 and Super 1000 titles, respectively.
“Since reuniting, we’ve greatly enhanced our communication, which has been beneficial for our performance,” said Izzuddin. “While we’re pleased with our play, there’s still work to be done. We need to stay focused for this next challenge.”
Second seeds Astrup and Rasmussen advanced to the final by defeating qualifiers Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh with a score of 21-14, 21-19 in a later match. Despite their strong 6-1 record, the world No. 2 Danes are cautious about their final opponents.
“You can’t depend on just one strategy; it’s essential to be strong all over the court to defeat them. We need to elevate our game one more time to secure a chance,” remarked Rasmussen.
This final marks the first Super 500 for Goh and Izzuddin. They are currently the only Malaysian players or pairs to have secured titles at all three levels (1000, 750, and 300) of the HSBC BWF World Tour.
On August 6, Thai badminton mixed doubles star Dechapol Puavaranukroh announced on his personal Instagram that he is engaged to his teammate, Pupe Puttita Supajirakul. Dechapol also shared his thoughts on their recent Olympic journey, mentioning that although their second Olympic quest did not result in fulfilling their dream, they had given their best effort and are determined to work even harder in the future.
Dechapol, along with his partner Sapsiree Taerattanachai, is renowned in the world of badminton mixed doubles. Born in 1996, Puttita Supajirakul was previously Sapsiree’s partner in women’s doubles, standing at an impressive height of 1.82 meters, making her taller than Dechapol—a rarity among female badminton players.
Puttita’s career highlights include winning a bronze medal in women’s doubles with Sapsiree at the 2022 World Championships in Tokyo. She was once a key player in Thailand’s women’s doubles team, contributing to the team’s runner-up finish at the 2018 Uber Cup, a third-place finish at the 2020 Uber Cup, and securing three gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games women’s team events (2015, 2017, and 2019). On May 30, 2023, she announced her retirement from the Thailand national badminton team.
Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Thai: เดชาพล พัววรานุเคราะห์), born May 20, 1997 in Chonburi, Thailand, is a Thai badminton player who specializes in doubles events. Dechapol- partnered with Sasiri in the highest world ranking of the combination, the two have won the World Badminton Championships (2021).
In April 2014, Dechaporn-Pao Uranuko participated in the World Junior Badminton Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia, winning the World Junior Men’s Doubles title with his youth partner Gedrun Kittinupong, and was the first World Junior duo in Thai badminton.
In March 2017, Dechaporn Pauwuranuco and Sasiri Deradanachai competed in the Swiss Badminton Golden Grand Prix, and in the Mixed Doubles Final, they again faced the No. 2 seeded and top Indonesian duo of Praveen Chodan/Daiby Sussanto, who had previously lost to this pair, and after a year’s gap, shut out their rivals 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) to win their first international Golden Grand Prix Mixed Doubles Championships.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games mixed doubles group stage group B partner Sasiri Deradanachai, the first round of 2:0 defeated the Canadian team Herbert Yu, Wu Wanling, the second round of 2:0 defeated the French team Thom Gikel, Delphine Del Rue, the third round of 2:0 defeated the British combination of Chloe Bilche, Lauren Smith, quarter-final 1:2 defeated the Japanese combination of Watanabe Yudai / Tohno Arisa, stopped in the quarter-finals of the eight. Arisa, stopped in the last eight.
In December 2021, world No.1 ranked mixed doubles pair Sasiri Dhradhanachai and Dechaporn Pauwula became Thailand’s first ever mixed doubles world champion by defeating Japan’s Isao Watanabe/Arisa Higashino in straight sets (21-13, 21-14) in the Mixed Doubles Final of the Badminton World Championships 2021, which is the first ever mixed doubles world championship in Thailand.
Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino dramatically turned the tide, dealing a devastating blow to Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, advancing to the mixed doubles semifinals of the 2024 Paris Open.
The Japanese pair repeated their Tokyo Olympics performance at the same stage, but the pattern of the match was entirely different. The Thai duo had a strong momentum and a clear lead, but Watanabe and Higashino gradually closed the gap. After they took the lead and won the first game, the Thai pair’s challenge suddenly collapsed with a score of 23-21, 21-14.
“I’m very happy, but I want to achieve even better results,” Watanabe said. “Three years ago (at the Olympics), we lost in the semifinals, so we want to perform better this time.”
The fourth seeds will face top seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, who moved one step closer to the only major title they have yet to win. Zheng and Huang defeated compatriots Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping with a score of 21-16, 21-15.
“Even though it was a quarterfinal, the intensity of the match was like a final,” Zheng said. “We lost to Dongping at the last Olympics; she knows how to play at the Olympics, so we did a lot of preparation. We knew today’s match would be tough, so we’re very happy to have won this game.”
In the lower half of the draw, World Champions Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung easily defeated Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet. They will next face compatriots Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun, who shattered Malaysia’s hopes by defeating Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei with a score of 21-19, 21-14.
